A coastguard is searching for a car that reportedly plunged hundreds of feet off the cliffs at Beachy Head in Sussex.

The Marine Coastguard said East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service contacted them at 11.15am on Thursday, after reports “a car had gone over the cliff near the lighthouse”.

A helicopter and boats are involved in the search. 

A Marine Coastguard spokeswoman said teams from Birling Gap, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Hastings and Bexhill were searching alongside the helicopter and RNLI boats out of Eastbourne.

“This incident is ongoing and we have no further information at this stage,” she added.

Beachy Head cliffs are around 530 feet high and are a popular tourist spot.

Footage at the scene showed the helicopter flying low along the beach at the bottom of the cliffs during the search.

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