A woman is lucky to be alive after her car plunged into Weymouth Harbour last night.

The vehicle went into the water after crashing through gates near to the former ferry terminal near the Pleasure Pier.

It is understood the woman was in the car when it entered the harbour. However she managed to escape from the vehicle after it plunged into the water, swimming to safety.

She was helped by police officers before being taken to hospital.

Her current condition is not known.

This morning, the harbour master's boat was at the scene. The crew were seen to be placing buoys in the water, thought to be where the car is positioned.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: "We were called at 9.24pm yesterday, Tuesday, to a report of a car which had collided with gates at the ferry terminal car park in Weymouth.

"The Nissan car was then reported to have driven into the harbour water. The driver was helped to safety by officers at the scene and was taken to Dorset County Hospital by the ambulance service.

"The Coastguard was also made aware. There were no other people in the car.

"The harbourmaster arranged recovery for the vehicle."

Wyke Coastguard Rescue Team said it was alerted to the incident at 9.40pm.

The team said as they made their way to the harbour, they were informed that the occupant was safe and accounted for, therefore the team were stood down.

Cllr Richard Kosior, Briefholder for Tourism, Culture and Harbour at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said: “We are sorry to hear of an incident involving a car going into the harbour. Our thoughts must be with the driver and we wish them a full recovery.

"I would also like to thank the emergency services and coastguard for their professionalism and speedy arrival to deal with the situation. Work continues today to remove the vehicle from the harbour.”