Filming for a new television series had to be halted as coastguards were called away to search for a missing person.

While team members were preparing to be filmed in West Bay for an up and coming BBC series, the crew was called out at 11.37am yesterday (Monday) to reports of a missing person in the Lyme Regis area.

As officers were already at the station, they were able to quickly gather their equipment and vehicle then head out to meet the team in Lyme Regis and Dorset Police.

A spokesman for West Bay Coastguard said: “Under the command of the Lyme Regis officer in charge, team members were briefed then deployed to search the area. The Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat was also launched to assist with the search.

“We are glad to say that not long into the search, the missing person was located by police officers and found to be safe and well. The coastguard was then stood down to return to station and the West Bay team arrived back just in time to continue filming.

“Stay safe on the coast, but if you find yourself in difficulty or if you see something which gives you cause for concern then do not hesitate, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.”

Filming was for a new BBC daytime series about heroes and extraordinary stories of survival, but due to it being a working title, the show has not been named.