EMERGENCY services were called to the sudden death of a swimmer in the waters off Bournemouth on Sunday.

An air ambulance, land ambulances and beach lifeguards rushed to the scene at Durley Chine beach on Sunday, August 21, to deal with the medical emergency.

BCP Council seafront officers put an emergency cordon in place next to the Harvester restaurant at the West Undercliff Promenade, blocking access to the promenade towards West Cliff.

The beachfront itself was also closed off while emergency crews dealt with the casualty.

Dorset Police has now confirmed a man, understood to be aged in his 80s, died at the scene.

Durley Chine Beach Lifeguards said they helped a swimmer who “got into difficulty” in the water and that no additional assistance from HM Coastguard was required.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “[We] received a report at around 5.40pm on Sunday August 21 of the sudden death of a man on Durley Chine beach in Bournemouth.

“Officers attended and assisted the ambulance service. It was confirmed that there are no suspicious circumstances. The man’s next of kin has been informed and the coroner has been notified.”

An RNLI spokesperson said: “Our lifeguards on Durley Chine beach were involved in an incident yesterday afternoon (around 4.30pm) where a member of the public who had been swimming between the flags experienced a medical episode.

“Our lifeguards recovered him from the water, began CPR and cleared a section of the beach for the HEMs helicopter to land. Paramedics from South Western Ambulance Service arrived on the scene very quickly and care of the casualty was passed to them.”

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: “We were called at 16.40hrs on Sunday to an incident on the coast in Bournemouth. We sent an operations officer, two double-crewed land ambulances and an air ambulance.”

The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance helicopter took off from the beach at around 5.50pm.

BCP Council said: “Our seafront staff supported lifeguard and ambulance services where appropriate, as part of the emergency response to the incident on the beach yesterday.”