LIFEBOAT crews were tasked to investigate a report of a man calling for help in Mistley.
Harwich Lifeboat Station, Walton Coastguard Coast Rescue Team and Holbrook Coastguard Rescue Team were paged at 12.45pm on Monday to respond to the call near Mistley Marina.
On arrival crews spoke to members of the public while also tracking down the first informant.
An RNLI spokesman said: “No one at the marina had heard the shouts and we were unable to find anyone in the water.
“Once we found the first informant we were able to ascertain the shouts had come from inland and that a man had fallen in his garden and needed help getting up.
“In between the neighbour’s 999 call and our arrival on scene he had been helped by his family and required no emergency medical assistance.
“All teams stood down with the incident put down as a false alarm with good intent.”
In the event of an emergency along the coastline or estuaries, or in mud, in the area call 999 and ask for the coastguard.
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