Woman in her 40s is raped on Bournemouth beach as police launch investigation

Published: 15:48, 8 May 2026 | Updated: 15:48, 8 May 2026 Police have launched an investigation after a woman was reportedly raped on a beach in Bournemouth. The woman, said to be in her 40s, told police that she was assaulted by a man on Boscombe beach at 10pm on Thursday. Police have set up a cordon on the sand next to Boscombe Pier while specially trained officers have spoken to the woman to establish more details about the incident. Officers could be seen trawling the waterfront on Friday and residents have been told to expect an increased police presence in the area. No arrests have been made yet and no description of the alleged attacker has been released yet.  A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: 'We received a report that a man had raped a woman on Boscombe beach at around 10pm on Thursday 7 May 2026. 'An investigation is underway and detectives are speaking with the victim to provide support and establish the full circumstances of the incident.  Police have launched an investigation after a woman was reportedly raped on Boscombe beach  'A cordon has been put in place to allow for enquiries to be carried out and there will be an increased police presence in the area as the investigation continues.' 'There will be an increased police presence in the area as the investigation continues. No arrests have been made.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.