Fears a boat may be in distress off the coast of Cromer have been allayed as authorities confirmed this was a lifeboat training exercise.

Concerns were raised on social media after white flares were seen falling from the sky off the Cromer coast, close to the pier.

But the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said there were no incidents off the Norfolk coast on Wednesday evening, and the flares had been used as part of a lifeboat training exercise.