AN abandoned car was found empty in the middle of a Worcestershire river as the emergency services were scrambled during a river rescue.

The police, fire service and ambulances attended the scene of the incident in Offenham near Evesham at around 12.41am on Saturday.

Mystery surrounds the car found empty during river 'rescue' at Offenham as rescue crews rushed to provide aid. West Mercia Police has been approached to provide more details about the dramatic incident. 

A spokesperson for the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said an Evesham Fire Station crew attended along with water first responders from Redditch, the drone from Ledbury, the Hereford water rescue team and the Urban Search and Rescue Dog.

He added: “A car had ended up in the middle of the River Avon near to the edge of the weir and crews waded in to check the vehicle and surrounding area for casualties.

“No one was found and the search continued up and downstream with the help of the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) from the ambulance service, the police and Severn Area Rescue Association.

“JESIP (Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Programme) meetings were held during the operation before, with no people found, HWFRS left the incident with the police at 3.10am.”

Meanwhile, the Severn Area Rescue Association based at Wyre Forest Station provided a description of what happened on Facebook.

A spokesperson said: "Early on Saturday morning, we were tasked by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HW Fire Control) to assist with an incident involving a car in the river near Offenham, Evesham.

"We asked crew from our sister stations, Severn Area Rescue Association - Tewkesbury and Severn Area Rescue Association - Upton to assist and all stations made their way to scene. Shortly after arriving on scene, we were stood down with the situation having been resolved. Great work by all agencies involved."

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "We received a call around 12:40am on Saturday morning with a report that a car had driven into the water in Offenham in Worcestershire.

"Our officers attended the incident to find a vehicle in the water but nobody inside the car.

"Along with other emergency services an extensive and thorough search was done and nobody was found."