A woman who threatened to enter the sea in the early hours of the morning sparked an alert.

Police and coastguards worked together to search for the woman in the Preston area of Weymouth after receiving a call at 00:06am yesterday.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said they received a report of concern for welfare about a woman in her 30s near Bowleaze Cove.

Police then teamed up with Wyke Coastguard Rescue Team and searched the area.

A spokesman for WCRT said the team were paged just after 00:30am and were requested by police to assist in the search for a despondent female who had threatened to enter the sea.

They added: “The majority of team members met at Bowleaze and quickly started a shoreline search whilst the teams’ vehicle searched from the Old Pier Bandstand towards The Stone Groyne.”

The woman was eventually found near Weymouth Beach.

A spokesman for police said: “Officers together with coastguards searched the area and the woman was found near the beach in Weymouth town and was taken to a place of safety.”

Officers and coastguards then returned to their stations.