EMERGENCY services were scrambled in North Berwick last night after children's clothing was found abandoned near the harbour.

Police and North Berwick RNLI were called out after a member of the pulic raised the alarm.

A search of the water was launched with North Berwick and Dunbar Coastguard teams and a rescue helicopter joining in after the discover at the old pier around 11.30pm.

The items found were a small black t-shirt with Japanese writing, pictures and symbols on it, a plain grey short sleeved t-shirt, a hoodie for a child aged 12-13 and a blue multicoloured towel with large orange stripe down the centre and two large fish.

Police said no missing person reports were lodged; however, searches took place in the area as a precaution.

White flares were also used to assist the crews in their search of the area.

The search was called off after an hour and the incident described by police as a "false alarm with good intent".

A spokesperson for North Berwick RNLI said: “It is suspected that the clothing may have been left by a swimmer earlier in the day.”

Teenagers have been seen in recent weeks 'harbour jumping' at North Berwick during good weather. One theory is that the clothing items and towel were mistakenly left by one of these youngsters.