Volunteer lifesavers were dispatched from the Suffolk coast in response to an emergency distress signal.

The Aldeburgh RNLI launched its all-weather lifeboat (ALB), Freddie Cooper, after an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) signal was picked up south of Orfordness lighthouse on Sunday afternoon.

EPIRB signals are transmitted via satellite in the event of an emergency to alert search and rescue services. The crew in Aldeburgh was launched on request by the coastguard at 3.45pm and headed to the co-ordinates of the signal.

An RNLI spokesman said: “Once on scene, the crew were tasked to search the immediate area. Coastguard teams from Aldeburgh and Shingle Street carried out a search from the shoreline. Once a further satellite had passed over the position and received no signal, the ALB was stood down and returned to station.”

They returned by 6.15pm.