Search for swimmers is called off

Lee Tompkins, a receptionist, went missing on Tuesday evening

The search for two swimmers who went missing off the Somerset coast has been called off after a final low-tide search on Wednesday afternoon.

A major air and sea search for Dave Ellams and Lee Tompkins started after the pair went missing on the coast off Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday evening.

An RAF helicopter and lifeboats were sent into the Bristol Channel to find the men but to no avail.

The pair, who are both in their 30s, were seen struggling with the tide.

The initial call to the coastguard was made just after 2100 BST.

Within 13 minutes, the two men were believed to have been swept half a mile offshore and they were heard still shouting for help.