A “QUICK-thinking” taxi driver has been praised for preventing what could have been a “very dangerous situation.”

At around 11.30pm on Tuesday night West Bay coastguard team was responding from a previous task when it was flagged down by a taxi driver in West Bay.

The driver told them that he was “very concerned” for the welfare of his female passenger who he had picked up from out of the county but had asked to be dropped off at the cliffs in West Bay so she could go for a walk.

He added that he had been driving around in circles for some time looking for help, unwilling to let her exit the taxi.

The officer in charge then spoke to the woman who said she had was unwell and had been drinking earlier that day.

The taxi driver was asked to pull in to a safe area and two officers kept the woman company while police and the ambulance service were called.

The police arrived shortly afterwards and the female was safeguarded until an ambulance arrived.

The coastguard officers were then stood down to return to station.

The coastguard wanted to thank the taxi driver for his concerns and quick-thinking which prevented what “could have been a very dangerous situation”.

Thy were flagged down by the driver following an unrelated search for a missing person in West Bay.

West Bay coastguard team was requested to assist Dorset Police at around 9pm on Tuesday.

It had been reported to the police that items of clothing and shoes had been found on East Pier and there were concerns for the whereabouts of the owner.

The police had carried out an initial search of East Beach but requested coastguard assistance to cover a larger area.

When on the scene, coastguards were divided in to teams for an initial search.

East Beach, East Pier, West Bay Harbour, West Pier and the Esplanade were all searched while enquiries were also made at some local hotels, with nothing found.

Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat was also launched to conduct a shore line search between Eype and Freshwater but nothing was found.