COASTGUARDS were flooded with emergency 999 calls after members of the public spotted a man who appeared to be drowning.

The flailing swimmer was seen off the Jaywick coast and the Clacton coastguard team, beach patrol and lifeboat were all set to come to his rescue.

But follow up calls were made to the coastguards after it became apparent that the swimmer was only pretending to struggle.

The units were stood down before reaching the scene. It happened at about 3.20pm on Sunday.