SEARCH AFTER SMS SENDS SOS

A man suffering from depression sparked a bogus search after sending a text message requesting help from his living room.

Rescuer's spent more than an hour looking for the man after he sent a text SOS to a friend saying he was stranded off the west coast.

Police found the culprit sitting in front of the television at his Blackpool home.

The man was reprimanded but will not face charges with wasting their time as he had not phoned them directly for assistance.

Paul Sutton, from Coastguard HQ at Southport, says: "This is a case of a depressed man who clearly wasn't thinking straight. The only thing that really matters is no one was hurt."