DIVERS told today how they retrieved a car belonging to missing Bridport woman Victoria Mann from the seabed.

A team from Weymouth-based Apex Divers were called in by police after the blue Ford Ka was spotted off the Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock.

The discovery came after Victoria, 26, went missing nearly a year ago following a night out.

A spokesman for Apex said: "A sports diver swimming from the beach reported what he thought was a blue car on the seabed.

"We found it buried in the shingle.

"It had obviously been covered and uncovered a couple of times and we had to dig it out to expose the wheel arches and axles so that we could get a decent steady controlled lift on the vehicle.

"The police obviously wanted it moved as carefully as possible to preserve any evidence as a body was still inside.

"They oversaw the entire operation as they were obviously accountable for preserving any forensic evidence and to make sure that it was all done as sympathetically as possible for the family's sake."

The Ka was found seven metres under the water's surface off the Hive Beach.

It was found lodged in the seabed and was covered in debris with only the roof of the vehicle visible.

Police commandeered a barge which had been working on repositioning navigational markers at West Bay to lift the car and return it to the harbour on Monday afternoon.

Victoria's relatives were allowed inside the police cordon to watch the operation from the West Pier.

Holidaymakers lined the quayside to watch the Ford Ka being lifted on to a recovery vehicle. Human remains found inside were taken to the mortuary at Dorset County Hospital for analysis. Police have yet to make any formal identification.