TWO coastguard teams, the Mudeford lifeboat, Poole lifeboat and police were called to reports of a person in the sea along Bournemouth seafront.

Southbourne and Poole coastguard teams attended at around 4.20pm on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Southbourne Coastguard said: “Tasked at 4.19pm by the national maritime operations centre to reports of a person potentially in the sea along Bournemouth seafront.

“Once on scene we obtained further information from Dorset Police. We carried out shoreline searches with Poole Coastguard Rescue Team while RNLI Poole Lifeboat Station and RNLI Mudeford lifeboat carried out searches on the water between the piers.

“After we had completed the searches and with further information that the casualty was safely ashore teams stood down and returned to station.”

A spokesperson for RNLI Poole Lifeboats added: "Poole lifeboat was launched at 4.30pm  by UK Coastguard to a report of a person in the water off Bournemouth Pier.

"The volunteers using search lights, combed the area around and under the pier, they were then tasked to search up to Boscombe Pier and a mile east, scouring the sea.

"Meanwhile Poole ILB launched, once on scene the D-class began to search closer in along the shoreline up to Boscombe Pier working alongside Poole Coastguard Rescue Team and Southbourne Coastguard who had been deployed to the beach area searching alongside the Dorset Police.

"Mudeford lifeboat was also tasked, they proceeded to search east of Boscombe Pier back to Southborne.

"Conditions were cold but calm, though a sea mist had crept in reducing visibility to about 1 mile. The coordinated search ensued that nothing untoward was found and UK Coastguard stood the lifeboats down.

"The passage through the harbour was quite murky as the sea mist had cloaked the familiar channel, for the crew it was a good training session, using the radar to navigate back home.

"The lifeboats arrived safely back on station, after a wash down the lifeboats were refueled, and a chance for the volunteers to warm up. Both boats were made ready for service by 7pm."