A light aircraft has crashed into the sea off the South Wales coast.

Pictures from the scene showed the small red and white plane in shallow water, between the lifeboat station and the Seabank Hotel at Porthcawl, on Tuesday morning.

Members of the public reported seeing what appeared to be the pilot being led from the site by coastguards, but their condition is currently not known.

Porthcawl RNLI and Coastguard crews were on the scene, and were joined by members of the police, fire and ambulance services.

In a statement, the RNLI said it received a callout at 9.22am and the pilot was seen by paramedics.

Witnesses reported hearing the plane’s engine “spluttering” before seeing it crash-land.

Onlooker Terry Sinnett, who saw the incident unfold, tweeted: “Looks like a small aircraft has come down in Porthcawl. Pilot being attended by public but was walking. Hoping everyone is safe.”

He later tweeted: “Think I saw pilot being helped away from sea by the emergency services.

“Seems pilot has had a miraculous escape, thankfully.”

James Brown, 75, saw the plane crash while walking on Lock’s Common, an area of land near the bay.