POLICE have been notified by the coastguard the search operation for a missing man has been scaled down.

Emergency services swarmed Clacton seafront shortly before 11am yesterday and evacuated the beaches after six swimmers got into difficulty off the coastline.

Five of the beachgoers were subsequently rescued and pulled from the water before being taken to Colchester Hospital for further treatment and care.

Despite the best efforts of lifeboat and coastguard crews, however, one man, aged 21, remained unaccounted for.

READ MORE: Clacton lifeboat crews deployed after person is reported missing

The search for the casualty, which was stopped at midnight on Tuesday, resumed at 9am today but Essex Police have now confirmed the operaton is being scaled down.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "We have received notification from Maritime and Coastguard Agency that the search operation in Clacton has been scaled down.

"A largescale search was launched after reports of six people being in difficulty in the water close to Clacton Pier shortly before 11am on Tuesday 19 July.

Gazette:

"Five people were thankfully brought to shore however one man, aged 21, has still not been accounted for.

"As the appropriate authority, we are attempting to make contact with the family of the 21-year-old man who, at this stage, is being treated as a missing person."

Those who found themselves caught up in the emergency are understood to have been swept towards Clacton Pier by a strong current.

Sstaff members from the pier leapt into action after hearing distressing calls for help coming from the east side of the historic attraction.

They soon realised a group of people were being pushed by the sea towards the rip currents underneath the pier.

Without hesitation, the workers launched life rings attached to ropes into the water before the casualties managed to grab hold of the floats.

READ MORE: Heroic pier workers save stranded swimmers after current pulls them out to sea

Within minutes Tendring Council’s Beach Patrol team arrived on a jet ski and collected one of group before two Clacton lifeboat teams picked-up the others.