A car had to be rescued from the sea in Poole Harbour after being swept out from the beach in high tide.

Emergency services were called to Moriconium Quay at Hamworthy on Sunday afternoon after the car was seen floating.

Poole Inshore Lifeboat launched at 4.45pm with Dorset Police also called to assist the volunteers.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said the blue Landrover Freelander, which is registered to a Poole man, had become stuck in the sand with the tide coming in.

The Poole lifeboat volunteers were sent along with the Dorset Police rib and Poole Harbour Control, who confirmed no-one was in the car.

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said owner of the vehicle was a bait digger whose vehicle had become stuck in the mud as the tide was coming in.

They added: “Clearly one should be very careful about taking vehicles down onto the mud or on the slipways, particularly when the tide is coming in.

“If somebody found themselves in this situation in future, they should call the coastguard directly, as we had to task a volunteer lifeboat crew to attend and investigate if any persons were in danger.”

The car, which contained a buoy, lifejacket, two shovels and a map, was recovered on Monday morning.

Residents said that they had seen drivers get into difficulty on the sand before, as the land looks solid to drive on but easily gives way.

David Booth, who works at Dorset Lake Shipyard, said: “There’s a public slipway there, where the public can take their car down by the water. 

"It doesn’t surprise me to hear about this at all as I do often see cars backing into the water, which sometimes goes as far up as the wheel arches.”

Resident, Desmond Wyatt, said: “It has happened here before. You can see the marks the car tyres leave in the sand sometimes where they have gone too far and have to ask their friends to help dig them out.

“I cannot conceive any reason why anybody would do that. It’s a silly thing to do.

"I guess they thought that they had a 4x4 so it could deal with anything. You can’t believe that somebody could be so stupid. They think that the beach is solid, but it gets softer as you get closer to the water.”

Another resident said: “It was after 4pm when two police cars came blaring down the road, with two police officers in each. A few minutes later, I could see the coastguard arrive on the water and then a rescue service vehicle.

“There were only locals down there, who were bringing their boats in. The land by the water is very deceptive to look at. You think all of the land is hard standing, but it gets softer as you go round.”