FEARS were growing today for the fate of two teenage boys who were swept into the sea last night while playing on rocks on the Dorset coast.

A huge air and sea search was sparked around 8pm when the alarm was raised.

The two friends, aged 15 and 16, both from the village of Lulworth were on rocks on the shore when they were washed into the water.

Meanwhile a second operation was launched just after 5.30 this morning for a missing German holidaymaker. It's understood a pile of clothes and a quantity of money were found on the coast at Swanage.

"We've got two operations going on at the same time," said a spokesman from Portland Coastguard.

"Everyone has been working very hard since about half past seven last night."

The missing boys were fishing at Lulworth Cove when they were overwhelmed by the waves.

A third boy aged 15 and also from Lulworth, who was with them also ended up in the water but managed to swim to the shore and ran to a local hotel where the emergency services were alerted.

Heavy rain and gusts of nearly 70mph battered the South Coast of England throughout yesterday.

And the rescue teams had to battle rough seas and high winds through the night.

The search for the youngsters included Coastguard helicopters from Portland and Lee-on-Solent, along with RNLI lifeboats from Weymouth and more than 30 police officers and sniffer dogs.

Local volunteers also turned up to help as news of the incident spread.

As well searching the rough seas, the Lulworth and Kimmeridge coastguard rescue teams are also continuing to search the shoreline today.

The youngsters were playing on rocks on the west side of Lulworth, one of the Dorset coast's best-known beauty spots.

A Portland Coastguard spokesman said: "An extensive search for the two boys aged 15 and 16 is on-going.

There was a short handover this morning to refresh the personnel with the search because everyone is very tired."

The helicopters were due to resume the air search at around 7 o'clock this morning.

Supt Dave Griffiths from Dorset police said the two boys were local and their families had been informed of the situation.

First published: November 4, 2005