Furious coastguards today hit out at a trickster who sent them on a wild goose chase.

Emergency services launched a massive search off the Southend coast following a call from a member of the public who claimed to see a man having difficulties in the water.

The call turned out to be a hoax, but the coastguard and other services trawled the area around Chalkwell Esplanade for around three hours looking for the imaginary swimmer.

A massive air and sea search immediately swung into operation, with the Coastguard Wessex helicopter - on exercise nearby - on the scene within minutes.

But despite the efforts of the police, Southend foreshore officers, three RNLI lifeboats and a local fishing boat, no trace of the man could be found and the emergency services realised it was a joke.

A spokesman for Thames Coastguard said: "The call turned out to be a hoax. We know the call came from the Southend area and an investigation is now in the hands of the police."

(Left and right) Waste of time - rescuers frantically hunt for a swimmer who never existed

Pictures: ROBIN WOOSEY

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.