Coastguards were called to reports that a suspicious object had been found on a beach.

West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team said it was alerted by Solent Coastguard NMOC (National Maritime Operations Centre) on Friday, May 18 just after 5pm to reports that a suspicious object had been found on Seatown Beach.

A member of the public had found the object, taken photos and sent them to the West Bay Coastguard Facebook page, unsure of what it was.

A spokesman for the West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team said: "As the team's Facebook page is for general information and not for reporting emergencies, the member of the public was thanked and advised to mark the location, leave the immediate area and dial 999 to report the object to the Coastguard via the proper channels."

Meanwhile, officers took the Facebook photos and sent them to NMOC for review, who in turn forwarded them to the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal team (EOD) for analysis.

EOD reviewed the photos and declared that the object was 'Not Ordnance' thinking that it was instead a sensor or diode of some description from a ship or buoy.

The NMOC then paged the West Bay team requesting that two officers respond to Seatown to retrieve and dispose of the item to prevent further callouts.

Unfortunately, the officers could not beat the tide and on their arrival at Seatown, the object had been covered by the incoming waters.

The spokesman said: "Ordnance and suspicious items often wash up on our shores, especially on the south coast and the member of the public did the right thing by notifying the coastguard.

"If you find a suspicious item on the beach, do not touch or disturb it.

"Remember or mark the location of the item as best you can, get away from the area, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."