Two men are believed to be missing off the South Devon coast in what police have described as a ‘truly tragic incident’.

Emergency services were deployed in force by sea and air after reports of swimmers in difficulty during a Christmas Day swim by revellers, police said.

Police are now appealing for information as they continue their enquiries into the accident with increasing fears for the safety of the men.

Two men, aged in their 40s and 60s, were not located during the search and remain missing at this time. Their families have been informed of the developments.

Extensive area searches have been ongoing throughout the day in efforts to locate them.

Devon and Cornwall Police were called at 10.25am to the beach at Budleigh Salterton after a report of people in trouble in the water, which led to an emergency response.

The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) Coastguard and RNLI have now concluded their searches at the scene.

High winds have caused very rough water and swimmers were earlier urged to keep out of the sea.

Several people were brought safely back to shore and checked at the scene by paramedics or taken to hospital as a precaution, police confirmed.

Detective Superintendent Hayley Costar said: “Today, emergency services have been responding to a truly tragic incident in Budleigh Salterton.

“Our thoughts remain firmly with the families and friends of the two men who are currently missing and to all who may have witnessed and be impacted by the incident.

“The local community will have seen a significant amount of emergency services in the area throughout the day as extensive enquiries have been ongoing. As dark falls, a number of these searches have been stood down, with some police enquiries on land continuing this evening.

“There have been weather warnings in place this week and a number of official and un-official swims have already been cancelled. While there are no official warnings in place for tomorrow, we urge anyone with plans to go swimming in the sea on Boxing Day not to.”

A force spokesman said earlier this afternoon: “A significant amount of emergency service personnel were deployed to the incident and we ask that people do not enter the water for public safety reasons.”

The MCA said Exmouth and Beer Coastguard Rescue Teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth and Torbay, plus coastguard search and rescue helicopters and fixed wing aircraft were sent to the scene to assist, alongside police and ambulance service.

The MCA added: "Searches have continued throughout the day to find two men believed to still be in the water. After extensive shoreline and offshore searches, the coastguard part of the search was stood down at 5pm.”

Police had previously urged members of the public not to enter the water along this stretch of coast and asked people not to join a Christmas Day swim at Exmouth while emergency services responded to the incident at Budleigh Salterton.

On Wednesday, organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall postponed or cancelled events due to a yellow weather warning for wind.

Public sea safety messaging from HM Coastguard are available at this link: Sea safety | HM Coastguard UK

Anyone with any relevant information which may assist police, who hasn’t already spoken to us, is asked to call 101 or report via our website quoting log 191 of 25/12/25