Inflatable yellow duck sparks ‘person in water’ alert at Milford, with search by Lymington and Mudeford lifeboat crews and coastguard

An inflatable yellow duck was among items which sparked a major search in the water off Milford.

RNLI and coastguard teams, including a helicopter, responded to a 999 call from a witness who believed they had spotted someone in the water wearing black-and-yellow clothing just south of the Needles Eye Café.

The alarm was raised just after 5pm on Saturday, and Lymington lifeboat launched in nine minutes.

It was joined by Mudeford’s lifeboat and Solent Coastguard, along with the Rescue 175 helicopter, to search as the tide ebbed towards the west.

However, they were all stood down after an hour-long parallel search which turned up the duck, tree branches and fishing pots.

Lymington lifeboat helm Greg Pachany said afterwards: “The person who called 999 did absolutely the right thing, in this instance it was a false alarm with good intent.”