An estate agent going to an appointment found a missing teenager who was the subject of a major air, ground and sea search.

Anthony Goss, director of Etherington Goss, based in Bridport, Dorset, is also a volunteer coastguard.

The youngster, 15-year-old Luca Goldman-Hudson, had vanished from his home in Hackney, London.

Police believe he travelled to Bournemouth in the early hours of Monday before continuing to Weymouth.

A police helicopter searched, helped by coastguard teams and lifeboats.

Police put out an appeal for information which was widely shared on social media, and also paged coastguards for help.

Goss had already been part of that team helping in the search, but was off-duty yesterday morning when he was out on an appointment in Weymouth.

He had a good description of the missing teenager from the police and recognised him crossing the road.

He told the local paper: “I just approached him and tried to ascertain he was who we were looking for – he certainly matched the description.

“I walked past him, asked ‘Are you okay Luca?’ and he responded to that.

“Obviously, he didn’t really want to be found at that point by anyone by the sounds of things.

“He made a dash along the beach and I took a step back to contact my operations room and requested police back-up.”

Goss kept Luca under observation until the police arrived.

Goss said: “He was fine physically. We were just pleased he was located.

“We had about 20 coastguard officers out on the ground on Tuesday morning – it was a large operation.

“At the end of the day, for us we do it voluntarily, but it’s something that continues when you’re off duty.”

A coastguard spokesman said: “Very well done indeed, Anthony, a job well done.

“It just goes to show, even when not on a specific tasking, team members always remain vigilant and effectively always on duty.”

Luca’s mother thanked everyone who had helped in the search, saying: “To the Dorset police, the coastguards and members of the public, thank you. Knowing you were out looking gave us comfort during a very difficult time.”

Goss is part of a team of 12 professionally trained volunteers at Wyke Coastguard, and has been a coastguard rescue officer for over 17 years.

We salute him and his brave colleagues – and thank him for reminding us just how fantastic many agents are in their communities.