A police helicopter was called to search for an elderly man near cliffs.

The National Police Air Service, along with police dogs and drones, were all part of the "extensive search" in Hastings early Thursday morning.

RNLI and coastguard teams from around the area also joined the search shortly after midnight.

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A spokesman for Eastbourne RNLI said: "Our Trent class all-weather lifeboat launched on service in response to a missing walker in the Hastings area.

"The police helicopter spotted something in dense vegetation halfway up the cliff.

"Coastguard teams quickly made their way to the location to investigate further and located the casualty but due to the difficult terrain the coastguard helicopter 163 was requested and successfully winched the casualty to safety."

A number of emergency personnel took part in the search.

This included Bexhill Coastguard, Hastings Coastguard, Rye Coastguard, Romney Marsh Coastguard, Pett Level Independent Lifeboat and the Hazardous Area Response Team.

They were under the coordination of the Solent Coastguard.