The coastguard in Southend rushed to help a swimmer who had gone under the water out at sea – only to find out it was a false alarm.

The incident came just hours after a woman died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Chalkwell.

Coastguard members had been returning from the incident when they received a 999 call about a swimmer who had gone under the water off the beach at Westcliff.

The call had been made by someone in the apartments overlooking the sea at about 1pm.

After a quick search of the area, the team was able to find a swimmer, who had matched the description, safe and well.

A coastguard spokesman said: “Once arrived on scene, whilst Coastguard Rescue Officers prepared for a possible snatch rescue, other officers spoke to members of the public at the beach hut opposite to see if they had witnessed any swimmer in distress.

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“Upon further investigations it was determined this was a false alarm with good intent, as a swimmer matching a similar description had made it safety to shore at an adjacent beach.

“When officers spoke to the swimmer they confirmed they were all ok and were not in any distress.

“We would like to thank the observant member of the public who called 999, whilst this was a false alarm with good intent, the next time might be for real where seconds count.”