Coastguard crews spent hours searching for a person believed to have entered the water off the coast of Brighton.

Emergency services, including volunteers from the RNLI and Sussex Police, were called to the scene near Brighton Palace Pier shortly before 4pm yesterday.

The search for the person carried on for several hours, with teams from Newhaven, Littlehampton and Shoreham helping to try and locate the missing person.

Two search and rescue helicopters from Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire and Lydd in Kent also scoured over the coast to assist with the search.

Lifeboats and the helicopters moved further away from the shore after sunset at around 8pm, scanning the sea around half a mile off the coast.

However, the search was suspended shortly before 10pm - almost six hours after emergency crews were first called to the scene.

The lifeboats were battered by large waves during the search as the south coast was pummeled by gale-force winds from Storm Noa.

Gusts of up to 75mph were forecast for exposed parts of the coast as the storm caused disruption across southern England.

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Witness Andrew Hine said he saw the lifeboat at the scene and the helicopter flying overhead.

He said: “It was horrendous. It’s a force ten gale - gale force winds.

“Good luck to the people in the lifeboats, they’re doing an amazing job.”

Dramatic footage shortly after the incident occurred showed the moment emergency crews arrived at the scene.

Search teams were seen running along Albion Groyne and looking into the sea at around 3.50pm yesterday, while police officers sprinted up the pier.

Footage from six minutes earlier also showed a man standing on the groyne shouting and waving at people on the Palace Pier in an effort to attract attention while holding a life ring.

A spokeswoman from the coastguard said: “Shortly after 4pm yesterday, April 12, HM Coastguard received reports of a person in the water at Doughnut Groyne close to Brighton Pier.

“An extensive search of the area has taken place throughout the evening, involving Newhaven, Littlehampton and Shoreham Coastguard Rescue Teams, alongside Shoreham and Newhaven RNLI all-weather lifeboats, Sussex Police and the coastguard helicopters from Lee-On-Solent and Lydd.

“The search has been suspended.”

Worthing Pier was temporarily closed as a result of the treacherous conditions, with parts of Sussex also experiencing power failures due to fallen electricity lines.