AN exhaustive search of one of the region's coastal areas was conducted following a report of a man entering the sea.

Two helicopters and three lifeboats were dispatched to the area of coast between Redcar and Saltburn on Wednesday evening.

The search was mounted after a member of the public reported seeing a man dressed in street clothes enter the sea and not come back out, near Windy Hill Lane, Marske, just after 6pm.

Two lifeboats from Redcar started the search, with the aid of a Cleveland Police helicopter equipped with a heat-seeking camera.

The Teesmouth lifeboat and a helicopter from RAF Leconfield, equipped with a powerful searchlight, joined the search, which lasted three hours.

The operation was called off as a probable false alarm, but there is no suggestion that the call was a hoax.

A spokesman for the RNLI said that the search would only resume if new information came to light or if someone was reported missing.