A man has died while saving a child from the sea in Britain.

Police said the man - aged in his 40s - rescued the child from the water off Chesil Beach in Dorset, before getting into difficulty himself.

A lifeboat crew recovered the man from the sea, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Dorset County Hospital.

The child was unhurt.

Dorset Police said officers were called to the incident around 4:45pm on Thursday.

Police, the coastguard and paramedics all attended the scene.

A spokesperson said: "A man aged in his 40s and from Enfield was recovered from the water. He was airlifted to Dorset County Hospital but has sadly died."

"The man's death is not being treated as suspicious and the coroner has been notified. The man's family have been informed."

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said: "We received a 999 call about a child in the water at West Bexington."

"A man then got into the water to rescue the child, which he did, and then got into difficulty himself."

"He was rescued from the water by the Lyme Regis inshore lifeboat and flown to the Dorset County Hospital where he died."