Emergency services are looking for a three-year-old boy who went missing at a playground.

The boy, named only as Noah, was with a relative at the small park at Merriam Close in Brantham, but “became separated” from them as they left at about 15:00 BST, Suffolk Police said.

The toddler, described as white, with curly ginger hair, was reported to have run down a nearby alleyway towards a newbuild housing estate.

Residents have been asked to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings by the police.

A helicopter has been pictured flying over the scene, which is near the estuary of the River Stour and close to the Essex border.

Passengers on trains between Manningtree and Ipswich have been told their services must run at a reduced speed due to the searches.

Rescue teams have been carrying out door-to-door inquiries in the area.

BBC reporter Zoie O’Brien, who is at the scene, says more than 100 people have joined the searches on Tuesday evening.

She said the helicopter appeared to be circling above fields and a wooded area behind the housing estate.

Posting on its Facebook page, Suffolk Police said: “It is overwhelming to read the support people are offering.”

A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “We are assisting Suffolk Constabulary with an incident at Brantham by sending an HM Coastguard helicopter and Coastguard Rescue Teams from Felixstowe and Holbrook.”

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