A WOMAN has been found safe in Beaminster after she was reported missing from West Bay.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said they were called to reports of a missing woman in her 40s in the West Bay area at around 4.30pm on Sunday.

West Bay Coastguard said coastguard officers were contacted by Dorset Police for assistance at around the same time after receiving reports from ‘worried friends’ that the woman had gone missing in the Esplanade area of West Bay.

They said: “Seven coastguard officers from the West Bay team assembled at the station, picked up their equipment and CRV (Coastguard Rescue Vehicle) and headed over to the Esplanade to meet Police and the first informants.

“The woman's car was still parked on the Esplanade and this became the teams Initial Planning Point for the onward search.

“The team split up and some officers were tasked with making enquiries and taking information from the first informant and members of the public, while the remaining officers carried out a search of the area local to her last known whereabouts.

“Information then came in from the team’s enquiries that suggested the woman had left the area and her last known whereabouts was now on the other side of Bridport.”

They added that due to the change of search location, away from the coast, the coastguard team stood down and Dorset Police continued making enquiries.

The spokesman for Dorset Police added: "A search of the local area was conducted, and the woman was found safe and well on Monday morning in Beaminster.

"She is being given appropriate care."