A van was found sinking in the Thames Estuary near Southend Coast Guard Station.

The incident happened at around 12.30pm today. Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and Southend Coast Guards were called to the scene to check if anyone was trapped inside the vehicle.

Luckily, no one was found inside.

Emma Wilce, 28, a bank manager from Westcliff, said: "My dad was down there and he was talking to the coast guard.

"He said the driver had a trailer with a boat on the back. They went off in the boat and left their van on the beach.

"They must have thought the tide didn’t come back very far. The coast guard called the police and they called the Fire Service.

"The fire service cut a hole in the roof to make sure no one was in the back, and thankfully there wasn't. Hopefully the driver will be back before it’s dark to realise what a mistake they made."

A spokesman for the Dover Coast Guard said: "The incident of a van being submerged in water was reported to us at around 12.30pm.

"It happened in the slipway outside the Southend Coast Guard Station.

"No one was inside the van. Essex Police were notified."

An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Firefighters from Leigh were alerted to reports of a vehicle being submerged in tidal water at 1.17pm today (Sunday 8 October). On arrival, crews reported a van had sunken into around five metres of water.

“Our water rescue team then inspected the vehicle and cut a small hole in its roof to ensure no-one was trapped inside, before leaving the scene in the hands of the police and coastguard at 2.13pm.”