Two men believed missing as coast search continues

Two men are believed to be missing off the Devon coast after reports of swimmers in difficulty, police have said.

Devon and Cornwall Police were called at 10:25 GMT to the beach at Budleigh Salterton after concern was raised for people in the water, prompting a significant emergency response.

A number of people were safely brought back to shore and were checked either by paramedics at the scene or taken to hospital as a precaution, the force confirmed.

It said the next of kin of one man had been spoken to and attempts to speak to a second man's family were continuing, with a local friend informed as part of those efforts.

In a statement, the force added: "A significant amount of emergency service personnel were deployed to the incident and we ask that people do not enter the water for public safety reasons."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Exmouth and Beer Coastguard Rescue teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth and Torbay, and coastguard search and rescue helicopters have been sent to the scene to assist, alongside police and the ambulance service.

Police have urged members of the public not to enter the water along this stretch of coast while the incident is ongoing.

Earlier, the force asked people not to participate in a Christmas Day swim at Exmouth while emergency services responded to the incident at Budleigh Salterton.

On Wednesday, organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall postponed or cancelled events due to a yellow weather warning for wind.

'Roughest’ sea

BBC journalist Phillip Stoneman has been a visitor to Budleigh for the swim for the past few years.

He said: "As soon as we arrived you could tell that the sea was the roughest it's been and that anyone going in would need to be a lot more cautious than usual.”

He added: “The waves swept some people exiting the sea off their feet and other swimmers were helping them out.”

He said the RNLI boat was out in the water at the time and hundreds of people were either on the beach or in the water.