A warning has been issued that hoax calls can put lives at risk, after Norfolk coastguard and lifeboat crews were called out in the early hours of the morning.

Hunstanton Coastguard Rescue Team and Hunstanton RNLI were paged by the coastguard at Humber to investigate after they were called by someone in the Clifftop Car Park at Old Hunstaton to say there was a person in the water shouting for help at just before 12.40am on Wednesday, July 8.

Both teams carried out a search of the area, but nothing was found and the person who had made the initial call to the coastguard was nowhere to be seen.

Hunstanton Coastguard Rescue Team posted on Facebook: “Humber put this incident down as a hoax call. Both teams were stood down and returned to their stations to clean down.

“Please do not put hoax calls in, hoax calls put lives at risk.”