One diver went missing while trying to free an anchor in the Solent and another diver failed to surface after exploring a wreck off the Dorset coast.

Both searches were called off on Wednesday evening.

A middle-aged man from Gosport failed to surface after going down 31 metres to try to free an anchor caught in the Solent.

The diving vessel "Scuba Doo" reported him missing when he failed to return to the after going into the sea at 4.45pm, near the Isle of Wight.

The search involving a coastguard helicopter and several lifeboats began at about 5pm and was called off once night fell.

Search resumed

The search for the other missing diver resumed on Thursday morning.

He went missing after exploring the sunken ship Kyarra, about a mile south of Durlston Head, near Anvil Point in Dorset.

Colleagues on board a dive boat raised the alarm shortly after 8pm on Tuesday when they realised the diver was overdue by five minutes, the Coastguard said.

A Coastguard helicopter from Portland joined the Swanage and Poole lifeboats in a search of the area.

A second helicopter from Solent, a Dorset police launch and a third lifeboat along with other dive boats also joined the search.

Divers have been warned to put safety first

Four Navy divers from Horsea Island and divers from the warship HMS Endurance searched near the wreck, which was sunk by a German torpedo in 1918.

But they found no trace of the missing diver and the search was called off.

The missing diver, who has not been named, is understood to be experienced, having completed more than 40 dives this year.

"It is understood he had begun to dive at the beginning of the season, diving almost every day," said Jim McWilliams, District Controller at Portland Coastguard.

Rescue

Coastguards in the area have rescued a second diver in a separate incident.

The female diver is believed to have got the "bends", as she was diving with a friend off a dive charter boat a mile west of Portland.

The Coastguard rescue helicopter, located at Portland, was immediately sent to the scene.

The diver is being treated for decompression sickness in the Hyperbaric Unit at Poole.

Safety first

These latest accidents are the most recent in a series to hit divers off the coast of Britain in recent weeks.

Divers were given a "safety first" warning by coastguards following a spate of accidents earlier in August.

One diver was killed, two were seriously injured, seven people were treated for the "bends", and 12 were involved in more minor incidents over the course of a few days.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is preparing a new brochure which it hopes will guide divers towards better and safer practice.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency Chief Executive Maurice Storey said: "Diving is an exhilarating sport, but one with a high number of risks."