COASTGUARDS were called to a sighting of suspected whales which turned out to be part of the new offshore windfarm.

A called was put in by an over eager passer by who thought they had made the amazing discovery but the mysterious objects were in fact bags of rock protecting cables for the Rampion Offshore Windfarm.

Argus reader David Russell took some pictures of the unusual sighting in the water off Lancing - near Brooklands Park.

Shoreham Coastguard said their team were called to a report of "whales" seen in surf line in Lancing.

"Officers attended and nothing was seen. Incident closed," they added.

A spokeswoman for the Marine and Coastguard Agency said it was eventually discovered rock bags were being used to hold cables to the sea bed during work on the windfarm - currently under construction off the Sussex coast.

Eon had warned seafarers not to sail within a 250 metre safety zone around the buoys.

They said in a statement to sailors: "Rock bags have been installed to protect the ducts until they are buried in the next two weeks."

Work on the windfarm has already caused a number of mysteries.

Last month residents complained of an unusual thumping noise heard during the night.

Despite being more than eight miles off shore, the sound of piling into the seabed could be heard across the rippling ocean in West Sussex.

The work is being carried out ahead of the installation of scores of 800 ton foundations for the turbines, called monopiles.

20 have already been installed with the total rising to 116 - one for each turbine.

The drilling work to embed foundations was paused in May to protect the population of black bream who use the relatively shallow gravelly waters as a breeding ground.

With spawning season at an end, piling work to install wind turbine foundations was able to get back underway in June.

Also two unexploded ordnance devices found 3km offshore are planned to be destroyed over the summer.