Concerned Southend beach-goers made a panicked call as they reported five children were in the water some distance from the shore with an incoming tide.

Southend Coastguard was called by members of the public using emergency phone 10 located along the promenade yesterday (August 23).

Officers from Southend RNLI assisted the search from the water while coastguards launched a shoreside search, as no one was seen from the shore in distress.

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They also had members of the coastguard team positioned by the emergency phone to allow the first informant to make themselves known and establish more information.

However, no one came forward.

A spokesman from HM Coastguard Southend said: “A thorough search of the area was completed by all assets and confirmed that no persons were in danger resulting in all the teams being stood down and released from the scene.”

They added: “Should you see someone in trouble or something that doesn’t look right, call 999 and ask for the coastguard, you could save someone’s life.”