A woman was taken to hospital after she was found by the Coastguard and police, along with a police helicopter.

The entire West Bay coastguard team was alerted on Saturday (23) at 9.14pm by Solent Coastguard to reports of a woman, described as ‘high risk’, who had gone missing from Eype.

Six rescue officers from the team, including the team’s station officer, responded to the call, picked up their equipment and headed to the rendezvous point near Eype beach in a rescue vehicle.

The team over at Lyme Regis were also paged to provide backup and a further six Coastguard officers and a second rescue vehicle were sent, along with Dorset Police and the NPAS Police Helicopter.

Under the command of the West Bay Officer in Charge a quick search of the area around Eype, including the beach, was carried out.

However, nothing was found.

The search was widened and search teams were sent along the coastal paths from Eype and also from Seatown.

The woman was found near the top of Thorncombe Beacon by Coastguard officers and given first aid.

She was then taken to Dorset County Hospital to be treated and cared for.

 A Coastguard spokesman said: “We wish the casualty a speedy recovery and wanted to thank our Coastguard colleagues from Lyme Regis, as well as the Police and Ambulance Services in what was a great multi-agency effort, ending in the safe return of a missing person.”

The spokesman added that if people find themselves in difficulty on the coast, they should not hesitate to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.