A Coastguard-led operation to transfer a critically ill patient from Whitehaven to a specialist hospital in Newcastle was hampered by a hoax call which diverted vital resources, say officials.

Coastguard crews from Whitehaven and Maryport, a five-person helicopter squad, and an RNLI crew from St Bees, rose to the challenge as they dealt with what appeared at first to be two simultaneous emergencies.

Despite the foggy weather, medics asked the Coastguard to transfer a male patient from West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle (RVI).

He was critically ill and in need of specialist care.

Coastguard officials were organising that transfer when the service got a 999 call from Sandwith, a few miles inland from the coast.

The caller claimed that a distressed man was threatening to throw himself off St Bees Head.

With the two incidents coming at the same time, Coastguard teams were called out Maryport and , Whitehaven, as well as an RNLI team from St Bees.

Some were deployed to search the clifftops for the suicidal man while others had the job of preparing a landing site for the Coastguard helicopter on St Bees foreshore.

But police later confirmed later that the call from Sandwith had almost certainly been a hoax, said Paul Pater, Station Officer with Whitehaven Coastguard.

He said "We tasked the RNLI team for St Bees to do a sea search, and we had people searching the clifftops.

"They searched for three or four hours but nothing untoward was found. We were told by the police to dismiss it as a hoax.

"We've had several calls about incidents in St Bees over the last few months, and they've all turned out to be hoaxes.

"It's frustrating because people are putting their lives at risk.

"This operation was challenging in any event due to the fog. It could have been critical. We've been sent out for sightings of flares, and for people who have gone swimming, and they haven't been there.

"Our resources are wasted."

Mr Pater said the hoax had caused a slight delay as the helicopter was diverted to search for the suicidal man who did not exist.

He added that the condition of the critically ill patient is not known.

His transfer to the RVI by road would have taken at least three and a half hours in last night's fog, but by helicopter the journey took only 30 to 40 minutes.

Mr Pater added a word of praise for the teams who were involved in last night's operation, as well as the police, medics, and North West Ambulance Service crews who worked alongside them.

Involved last night were the St Bees RNLI team (around 10 to 15 volunteers); the Maryport Coastuard Rescue Team (four crew); Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team (six members); a five man Coastguard helicopter crew, and police and ambulance staff.

The Maryport and St Bees crews were called out in addition to the other crews as a result of the 999 call about the suicidal man.

Cumbria Police also used specialist dog handlers to take part in the search.