Body found on beach after Coast Guard Search

The body of a  missing 59-year-old man was found near Lyme Regis this afternoon following a search by East Devon coastguards.

The man is thought to have fallen overboard while on the water sometime today

The search launched around 1pm today saw all Lyme Bay coastguard teams including Exmouth Coast Guard and Sidmouth Lifeboat attempt a search for missing man.

As of 2:30 pm the search was stood down following the discovery of the body on a beach near Lyme Regis.

A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said:

“Portland Coastguard received a call from a member of the public at around 7.30 this morning reporting they’d found a small boat washed up on the beach east of Seatown.

"A major search was carried out along parts of the Dorset and Devon coastline involving the Coastguard helicopter from Portland, the West Bay, Swanage, Lyme Regis, Exmouth and Beer Coastguard Rescue Teams along with the two Exmouth RNLI lifeboats, the Sidmouth independent lifeboat and the RNLI lifeboat from Lyme Regis.

“A body has since been recovered and units have now been stood down. Information has been passed to Dorset Police.”