ABANDONED kayaks left in waters off Portland sparked a search mission this morning.
Portland Coastguard had not been informed that the vessels would be left in the water following a challenge to commemorate D-Day.
It launched a search which included the rescue helicopter, Solent helicopter, Weymouth lifeboat and a local boat, fearing that people could be in the water.
But it emerged the vessels had been left by kayakers on a charity challenge.
A spokesman for the coastguard said: “We didn’t know the kayaks were being left over by the D-Day kayakers.
“They had been left on Thursday night.
“It would appear they had informed someone but this didn’t filter down to ops room and we weren’t aware until after.”
Both canoes were recovered from the water and the search was stood down.
As reported in the Echo, a group set off from Portland for France last week in a bid to raise money for five charities and mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
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