A woman in distress in the sea was rescued after a search along the coast to find her.

The woman was reported to be in the water off Westgate-on-Sea in Thanet shortly before 10pm last night.

Police called for the help of the RNLI's inshore crew from Margate who were on the scene to search along the coast for the woman.

They joined colleagues from the coastguard and police who had been sent to St Mildred's Bay.

Paramedics were also on the scene but the woman could not be found initially.

Crews used parachute flares and a searchlight and scoured the coast in a bid to track the casualty.

She was found by shoreside crews in West Bay and the lifeboat, the D-class Tigger Three, took her out of the water.

Details have not been released about the woman's condition.

A police spokesman said: "A concern call was received at 9.39pm about a woman who had walked into the sea. At 10.24pm she was safely in an ambulance being tended to by SECAMB (South East Coast Ambulance)."