A mystery object floating at sea which sparked a call to the bomb squad turned out to be a military device used to locate mines.

Lyme Regis Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) was first made aware of the object on Monday afternoon when it was reported as suspected 'ordnance' on the beach in Pinhay Bay, west of Lyme.

The team made their way down to the beach and met the person who called it in, but by then the tide had come in and it was covered by the sea.

The team were back out again on Tuesday morning as the tide was out so there was a better chance of spotting it.

A Lyme CRT spokesman said: "The team made their way to the beach where they located the object in question.

"After extensive liaison with the Royal Navy, it was established that the device was a submarine drone used to locate mines.

"Once confirmed that the unmanned 'vehicle' was inert, we assisted the Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal in recovering the device from the beach using a wheeled stretcher. The drone was then transferred to the EOD vehicle for its return to base."