An elderly man had to be rescued at a Lizard beauty spot on Sunday after falling on rocks.

The pensioner suffered cuts and bruises to his body by what was described by coastguards as a "bad fall" on the rocks at Kynance Cove, which was packed with holidaymakers and local people enjoying an afternoon on the beach.

An off duty paramedic is understood to have given immediate first aid while Mullion Coastguard team were paged by the Falmouth operations centre just before 1.30pm. They helped move the man to safety, taking him in their truck to the car park, from where the man took himself off for further treatment.

The incident was not linked to the coastguard helicopter that was seen flying around the Lizard Peninsula beaches the same afternoon.

Crowds of people on the area's packed beaches, included Poldhu, Church Cove and Dollar Cove at Gunwalloe, watched as the helicopter flew past, apparently searching the area - but in fact, the crew was just in training.

A coastguard spokesperson said: "If you see someone you think is in trouble on the coast or at sea, call 999 and ask for the coastguard."