Border Force officers were in action off Beer and Seaton last week in what Home Office officials described as ‘routine operations’.
Their 42m cutter HMC Searcher anchored in the bay mid-morning last Thursday and deployed its high-powered Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) with four people on board.
Photographer Peter Woollacott, from Seaton, said the craft investigated Seaton Hole, Beer and Beer Head, together with Axmouth and the coastline towards Lyme Regis.
He said: “They were around for a couple of hours looking about. What were they looking for?
“It’s good to know our shores are protected, whilst it brings home global issues when you see this from the quiet East Devon coast.”
A spokeswoman at The Home Office declined to give any further details about what the operation involved.
Border Force is a law enforcement agency which carries out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK.
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