Two people contacted the Maritime & Coastguard Agency at 4.55pm on Saturday, claiming to have seen a person swept into the sea off the Cobb at Lyme Regis in Dorset.

However, despite a search operation involving a helicopter and lifeboats, no one was found.

A spokesman for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said: ‘There was a suggestion that someone had been swept off the Cobb by large waves.’

The spokesman was not able to confirm reports that the person was a photographer and the incident has been closed ‘pending any new information’.

The search has been suspended.

Conditions at the time were described as ‘very hazardous.

However, a photographer has reportedly come forward, claiming that he is probably the person feared missing, according to Bridport News.

A Dorset Police spokesman told Amateur Photographer that the force has not received a report of any missing person.

The Cobb is a famous Dorset landmark, famed for its appearance in the opening scene of the 1981 movie, The French Lieutenant’s Woman.