Worried office workers near Woodbridge sparked a major rescue mission for a man who was looking for an old mooring in a small dinghy. The rescue operation was launched at 1149hrs yesterday morning after reports of an old man having difficulty in a dinghy in the mud on the River Deben reached Coastguards.

A police helicopter joined officers, Felixstowe and Shingle Street Coastguard and the Harwich lifeboat to bring the man to safety.

A spokesman for the Thames Coastguard said: ‘Nearby office workers called police after they thought the man was in trouble. However once the coastguards arrived on the scene it was discovered he wasn’t actually in any difficulty. He was just looking for an old mooring
that he couldn’t find.’