Two people have escaped unhurt after their plane crashed into the sea off the Sussex coast, Metro UK reports.

The pair swam to shore after the light aircraft came down ‘quite close to the beach’ in Shoreham, West Sussex.

The plane, which is believed to be a Cessna, crashed at about 3.50pm.

A coastguard spokeswoman said: ‘The UK Coastguard received multiple 999 calls at approximately 3.50 pm today (30 March) reporting that a small plane with two people on board had ditched into the water off Shoreham.

‘The Shoreham Coastguard Rescue Team and RNLI lifeboat were immediately tasked, along with the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Lee-on-Solent.’

Shoreham was the scene of an air disaster in 2015 when a vintage military jet crashed at an airshow killing 11 people and injuring 16.