POLICE have appealed for witnesses after the search for a missing person seen entering the River Clwyd on Friday afternoon was suspended.

North Wales Police, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the RNLI launched a ‘concerns for safety’ incident at about 2.30pm after reports that a person had entered the river at the Blue Bridge, Rhyl.

The RNLI said it was called at 2.37pm to report a person “entering the river Clwyd and swimming to mid-river, when the informant reporting the incident lost sight of the casualty”.

RNLI lifeboat crews searched from Rhyl Harbour to Rhuddlan including gullies, banks, and moorings, and a coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon patrolled the river to St Asaph, however the search was stopped at about 5.45pm due to fading light.

"Neither police or coastguard could locate anyone in difficulty or who had subsequently left the water," said chief inspector Jon Bowcott.

An item of clothing was found by the crew but it has not yet been linked to the missing person.

A North Wales Police spokesperson said: “Following an incident near to the Blue Bridge in Rhyl, police are trying to identify potential witnesses.

“We would like to speak to anyone who was walking in the vicinity of the bridge at around 2.30pm on Friday, January 17, in particular if they saw anything unusual or suspicious."

The spokesperson said the coastguard helicopter was flying overhead at the time of the incident "which may jog people’s memory".

Chief insp Bowcott said: “If you saw anything which may assist us in ascertaining if anyone was seen in the water, or having got back out onto the bank, please contact us quoting event reference Y007483."