Coastguard called out to report of whale thrashing around off Seaton Carew

Rescuers attended the area in question, just south of Sandy car park, but it proved to be a false alarm.

Hartlepool's Coastguard Rescue Team posted on Facebook: "We were paged by Humber Coastguard Operations Centre to reports of a whale thrashing around possibly caught in pots south of Sandy car park.

"After the team and S5B did a thorough search from the beach and the North Gare, it was established that what the first informant could see was the rising water from Hartlepool Power Station outfall pipe.

"This was a false alarm with good intent."