An elderly Irish playwright inadvertently set off a huge airsea search off the Sussex coast after going swimming from a beach in the midst of force 7 winds, police said yesterday.
Brian Behan, brother of the late Brendan, stripped off and went swimming from Shoreham Harbour, East Sussex, in stormy seas on Saturday morning.
And he carried on, oblivious, even after coastguards, a police helicopter and the Shoreham lifeboat were mobilised following a 999 call from an onlooker who feared he was trying to kill himself.
It was only when Mr Behan (73), of Newark Place, Albion Hill, Brighton, came face to face with the police on his way back to his parked car that he realised the fuss he had caused.
Mr Behan, who swims in the sea every day, normally from the town's nudist beach, said he apologised for his actions before inviting the officers to join him for another dip. He said: "They asked me what on earth I was doing. I told them, `just having a swim'. The officers laughed and told me about the rescue operation.
"I asked them to join me as the water was quite warm for the time of year, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but they declined."