Coastguards in Gorleston were today called to investigate an unknown object in the water - only to find it was the wreckage of a ship that sank 100 years ago.

At 4pm a seven-man strong team were sent to check reports of an object in the sea off Gorleston Beach, which turned out to be part of the White Swan cargo ship, which sank after a storm in November 1916.

Gorleston Coastguard posted on their Facebook page: 'Tasked by Humber to investigate an object in the sea off Gorleston beach. After investigation the team concluded that it was the wreck of the White Swan cargo ship. A false alarm with good intent.'

A spokesman for the Coastguard said false alarms are quite common but added calls which turn out to relate to a 100-year old shipwreck are rare occurrences.

'We receive calls where people have seen marker buoys and thought it was someone's head, or people have rung to report lights flashing at sea,' the spokesman said. 'Generally the best thing to do is to call us if you see something that looks out of the ordinary.'

The White Swan, a steamer from Newcastle, was wrecked after she was dragged ashore by anchors which had been dropped in an attempt to ride out the storm.

All the crew-members were rescued and taken to safety.