Electric car stranded and surrounded by water at Port Isaac Harbour

An electric car has been photographed in Port Isaac harbour surrounded by seawater.

The harbour was used as a car park for many years with the opening times largely governed by the incoming tide. However, in recent times it's been closed and signs at the entrance warn motorists not leave cars there.

People took to the Utterly Preposterous Parking in Cornwall group on social media to share their frustrations. Some were concerned by the safety risk, asking if the car could catch fire due to its electric battery.

It comes after four vehicles had to be pulled to safety by lifeguards after getting stuck in the sand on Towan Beach in Newquay on 2 August. A Mercedes SUV also became stranded on the same beach a week before after a driver mistook the area for "free parking".

Pictures show the Toyota Prius languishing in sandy tyre tracks. One witness said it was later retrieved safely.

The car was stuck in the sand with plenty of people on the beach to see it. A witness claims they eventually got help from lifeguards and managed to get the vehicles back onto more solid ground.

One witness, Steven O'Brien, from Barnsley, said: "I was walking down to the beach with my partner, two kids and my mum and saw this convoy of cars driving down the cobbled ramp to the beach thinking, 'what the f*** are they doing?' and even said to someone, 'I didn't know cars were allowed onto the beach' and then the lifeguards in the hut got on the speakers saying, 'please leave the beach, you're not allowed to drive onto the beach this isn't a car park. Oh you're stuck now'."