A windsurfer attempting to reach France on a surfboard sparked a full-scale UK Border Force investigation when it was wrongly believed he was an illegal entrant.

The bemused Londoner was discovered near to the MOD rifle range and was escorted ashore to Dover Lifeboat Station.

Dover Lifeboat spokesman Tony Hawkins said: "They thought he was an illegal immigrant but it turned out to be a false alarm."

Mr Hawkins added: "He had come down from London and was trying to reach France. He set off from Hythe and drifted into the area covered by the rifle range."

The range's safety boat brought him to Dover where immigration officers spoke to him.

The incident follows numerous attempts by would-be illegal immigrants trying to reach British soil in rubber dinghies or makeshift rafts.