Concern for loose boat sparks concern - only for emergency team to discover it was a sofa

Fears about an unmanned boat spotted off the coast were allayed when a team of volunteers found it was actually a settee.

By Fiona Thompson

Published 2nd Mar 2019, 20:39 BST

Updated 2nd Mar 2019, 21:17 BST

The SSVLB headed to Littlehaven Beach after calls of concern.

South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade (SSVLB) were alerted by the Coastguard service based on the Humber after a call reporting an unmanned dinghy had been spotted off the beach at Littlehaven.

A spokesman for the charity said: "Team members arrived and made contact with the first informant who pointed at the object floating just off the Herd Groyne.

"It was quickly established that it wasn’t a dinghy but an old sofa.

"The call was logged as a false alarm with good intent.

"Remember for all Coastal emergencies dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard."

The call out happened just after 3.30pm today.