Armed police officers scoured Clacton seafront after reports of a man with a shotgun.

The drama was sparked when an elderly couple contacted officers reporting they had seen a man in Marine Parade East and he appeared to have a sawn-off shotgun in his bag.

Insp Peter Smith, of Clacton police, said the man was heading in the direction of Clacton Pier.

"Because of the information we received we put everything into the operation as for a full armed incident," he said.

Two response vehicles from Essex Police headquarters in Chelmsford were called in and the Essex Police helicopter was sent up just after 2pm on Wednesday.

They spent three hours making a thorough search of the area before the units were stood down at about 5pm without anything being found.

Mr Smith said: "The team could not find anyone fitting the description given by the couple.

"Three people were seen in the area but nothing was found and the search of the seafront had a negative result."

Insp Smith added that the report was not a hoax and it was made with good intent by the elderly pair.

By Nigel Brown

Reporter's e-mail: nigel_brown@thisisessex.co.uk

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