Having had some time to research and compare images etc the "Plover" matches several images of winter plumaged Grey Plover. I am then left wondering why, if it was a Grey Plover, I could not see any dark armpits when I flushed it.
When I flushed the birds, no black armpit was apparent in my binoculars, so I tried to photograph them in flight. My trusty Canon bridge camera is not the most useful tool for snapping fast flying birds and I was amazed to get even one flight shot but sadly the pic shows no clear under-wing.
Consequently I am left puzzled, wondering if in my dotage I can no longer trust my eyes, or if the bird in question was aberrant. It definitely seemed to be something of an oddity especially when taking account of where it was found and in the company it was keeping.
Either way, it seemed best to let people know about the bird as quickly as possible, in the hope that someone with more knowledge or a better camera than myself, might be able to identify it positively.