Elderly woman with dementia found metres from sea

A search was launched for the missing woman in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea

An elderly woman with dementia is recovering after being found just meters from the sea, police have said.

The 86-year-old went missing from her home in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, during the early hours of Wednesday.

A full scale search was launched, with police officers using information supplied by her family about places she was known to visit.

Officers found her on the lifeboat ramp around 02:00 BST before she was taken to hospital and treated for symptoms of hypothermia.

The woman was found on the ramp of the lifeboat station during the early hours

Northumbria Police said the alarm was raised at 01:00 BST.

It was able to help track down the woman quicker using the Herbert Protocol, which encourages carers and family members to record useful information which could be used if a vulnerable person goes missing.

Ch Insp Phil Mcconville said: “Thanks to the swift action and teamwork from our officers and our partners at the North East Ambulance Service, a vulnerable woman with dementia who was outdoors on her own, just meters from the sea, was safely located and escorted to safety.

“I’m so proud of the response from officers to this situation, and I’ve no doubt that had they not taken such swift and decisive action, this situation could have ended in tragedy."

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said it was alerted at 02:08 BST by police to reports of a person injured outside the lifeboat station.

"We dispatched an ambulance crew who transported the patient to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital for further treatment."