Swimmer launches £35,000 air and sea search

The woman was taking a dip in the sea off Bexhill when she decided to pop to a shop, so wrapped herself in a towel and wandered off.

A man at the nearby Bexhill Sailing Club noticed the clothes had been on the beach for some time and raised the alarm at 8.15pm on Wednesday.

The Coastguard helicopter India-Juliet, from Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, two lifeboats from Hastings, teams from Bexhill and Dover Coastguard and two rescue boats from the sailing club mounted a massive search.

An hour later the woman, who was still only wearing a swimsuit and towel, returned to collect her clothes and wondered what all the fuss was about.

Unapologetic, the 20-year-old from London refused to give coastguards her name so police were called.

Dover Coastguard watch manager Rob Gradon said: "She was really miffed that we'd made all this effort to go and look for her.

"She had a bit of an attitude. She wouldn't give her name, so we had to call police.

"Her attitude was, 'I never called and asked for help' although she might not have been in a position to.

"Her mother has a property nearby, on the beachfront, so why she couldn't have got changed there and walked to the beach I don't know."

Mr Gradon, who manned the radar during the search, added: "Everyone has a right to go swimming but there's a responsible way to do it and an irresponsible way.

"People that don't live in a maritime environment don't think in this way. She's a typical Londoner.

"If you put it all together, you wouldn't get much change out of £35,000 for the search."

Another Dover Coastguard spokesman said that after the initial call at 8.15pm the operation was over by about 9.30pm.

She said: "She couldn't see what all the fuss was about. We have to take action because people often go swimming and run into trouble."

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We reunited her with her clothing and then we stood down."

He added that she was not charged with any offence.