Sidmouth Independent Lifeboat was called out to a possible person face down in the water near Sidmouth Port Royal beach.

The alert was made by Solent Coastguard on Monday, May 27 at 6.42pm.

Beer and Sidmouth Coastguard teams, a Coastguard helicopter and Lyme lifeboat were also tasked.

Upon arrival at the scene, the object in question, however, was identified from the shore by the Sidmouth Lifeboat crew as a pot marker buoy merely 30m offshore.

Two crew members swam out to retrieve it, preventing further false alarms.

By 7.22pm, all units were able to stand down.

It comes after Sidmouth Lifeboat lodged an application for an extension of its lifeboat station on the Esplanade.

The proposed two-storey extension will provide additional space and housing for the Sea Rider lifeboat within the building.

The Sea Rider currently resides across the Ham East car park, in a garage which results in at least a 10-minute delay in launch times.

The new direct access onto the Esplanade aims to improve efficiency.

The proposed extension is around 59 square metres on the east side of the existing building.