A massive search and rescue operation, that was launched after two children were seen playing in the sea, has been called off after they were found safe.

Parents were asked to urgently contact the Coastguard if their children has been playing on the beach opposite Allhallows Caravan Holiday Park, Isle of Grain off the Thames Estuary, Kent late yesterday afternoon.

Dai Jones, duty controller for the UK Coastguard, said: "Two young boys aged around 8 to 12 were seen playing in the water in this area at around 5.15pm.

We believe they may have swam to shore as there were limited people on the beach at that time, however we must be absolutely sure.

"As a precautionary measure we are carrying out an extensive and thorough search of the area. We are also urging parents who might have had children playing in that location at that time to contact us directly, if they think that it was their children that were seen in the water, so we can rule out that these two boys may be missing or have got into difficulty in the water.’

"At the current time, we have the Medway Coastguard Rescue Team conducting a shoreline search and the Sheerness RNLI inshore lifeboat covering the coastal area. We have also tasked the UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Lydd. Kent Police are also on scene.’

"We are working with Kent Police to carry out enquiries at the Caravan Park which are continuing however, parents who might have any further information about these two young boys are being urged to call us on 999 and ask for the Coastguard."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency tweeted that the operation had been called off around midnight after a parent made contact to say the children had been found.

A spokesman for HM Coastguard said: "The UK Coastguard is pleased to report that a parent has been in touch to report that her son was playing in the area with other boys and they had left the area safely.

"We would like to reiterate that no children were reported missing and the search was a precautionary measure to rule out anyone in difficulty."