A Scots surfer accidentally sparked a major rescue operation after leaving his board on the beach.
A frantic three-hour long search was carried out after a panicked local thought his board was found ‘washed up’ on Whitesands beach in Dunbar yesterday.
Mercy crews and members of the public hunted the popular East Lothian spot for what they thought was a missing man during the desperate rescue operation.
Coastguard and lifeboat teams from the nearby Dunbar station and their counterparts in North Berwick scrambled to the scene late on Saturday afternoon to help efforts, reports Edinburgh Live.
But it was later confirmed he had simply left it on the sands while he carried some other items back to his car.
The owner was found to be in fully fit condition and was in no trouble despite initial fears for his safety.
The search was quickly stood down following the discovery but coastguard officers praised concerned locals for their vigilance as they lauded the “good intentions” behind the call.
A statement from the North Berwick Coastguard Rescue team read: "The team was asked at 1600hrs alongside Dunbar Coastguard and RNLI Dunbar Lifeboats to reports of a surfboard washed up on the beach in the Whitesands area of Dunbar.
"After an extensive search for nearly three hours and with the assistance of other surfers and members of the public, it turned out that the owner of the board had left it on the golf course while dropping other equipment off at his vehicle and then returning for it a while later.
"Remember if you see someone or something you are concerned about on the shoreline, cliffs, mud or water. Dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
"If in doubt, call."
