A van driver has plunged over a 100ft cliff onto the beach below, sparking a major emergency response.
The white van 'left the road and went over the cliffs on to the beach below', Northumbria Police said.
The force called to an area near the A183 Coast Road in South Shields, a road which runs along Marsden Beach and the surrounding cliffs, at 6.10am this morning after a report of a concern for someone's welfare.
Only one person is believed to have been inside the vehicle.
An emergency response saw Tynemouth RNLI and HM Coastguard among the first to arrive before they were joined by Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, and the North East Ambulance Service.
For reasons currently unknown, the van 'left the road and went over the cliffs on to the beach below', the force said
Images show the van at the bottom of the cliff with the front end submerged in the sea water and the back end pointed up
Emergency services are still in attendance and enquiries are ongoing.
Images show the van at the bottom of the cliff with the front end submerged in the sea water and the back end pointed up.
A spokesperson for the North East Ambulance Service earlier said: 'We were called to the Marsden area at 6.10am following concerns for a person. We dispatched a clinical team leader and one ambulance crew.'
The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, HM Coastguard, and Tynemouth RNLI, confirmed they were also at the scene, with the RNLI adding: 'We launched this morning to a multi-agency call.'