LIFEBOAT crews are used to dealing with emergencies, whenever and wherever they happen.

But one Hampshire rescue team were stunned when a life-threatening drama unfolded right before their eyes – when a man leapt off the Itchen Bridge and landed in the water just yards from their boat.

The off-duty members of Solent Rescue, based at Lepe Country Park, were testing their emergency vessel in the River Itchen after some maintenance work, when they were suddenly called into action.

They were able to save the man, who had jumped in an apparent suicide bid, leaving him suffering little more than shock.

Crewman Andy Walker said the team spotted him standing by a lamppost on the bridge above them, but initially assumed he was just taking photographs.

He said: “But as we went past we saw him looking off and so we slowed down and thought ‘hang on, this doesn’t look too good’.

“As we turned around we looked over our shoulders and he jumped.

“We saw him hit the water, so went straight over and pulled him out and got him in the recovery position.

“If it had been two or three seconds earlier he’d have probably landed in the boat, he was that close.

“I’ve done loads of rescues, but nothing as bad as that where we actually saw it happen – normally we get there after it’s happened.

“It must have been a cry for help because you can’t miss our boat with the big blue light on it, but someone was looking down on him.

“He was very, very lucky – he must have fallen 90 feet and it was a slack tide.

Luckily he went in feet first, but even then he could have hit the bottom and broken his legs.

“He was at least 50 metres from the shore and in that kind of shock you’re not going to be able to swim. He was bobbing about and his head kept going under. In Southampton Water, he could have just been swept away.”

Andy revealed it was sheer chance they were on the river last Thursday to save the man, who is believed to be a foreign national in his twenties who is facing deportation from the country.

He said: “We weren’t even on duty, and it’s not our patch.

“We didn’t know we were going out then – it was just a freak bit of luck for him really, but it was a good thing.”

Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene and spoke to the man once he was back on shore.

Article and images courtesey of the Daily Echo.

Saturday

 Crew signed on the look out and proceeded to keep observations in the Western Solent whilst Solent Rescue 2 was brought round for service.

The day passed almost without incident with one vessel brushing into Lepe Spit, SR2 checked to see if the crew were OK, but the vessel didn’t go hard aground and came off with no intervention required from any other party.

Sunday

Crew, much like Saturday, set up the look out and launched SR2 and then began to complete planned training.

During this time, a jet-ski broke down outside the lookout and SR2 proceeded to take it around to Calshot. Upon going past the spit, the SR2 coxswain discussed with the owner that it would be quicker to take the ski to our recovery location and then SR2 take the owner around to Calshot so he could bring his trailer round by road (also saving fuel on a costly tow job).

This was completed with thanks and the crew returned to station.

Saturday:

Crew put the vessel afloat and informed the Coastguard of our operational status, the only incident had Hamble Lifeboat (sister unit) tasked to it and we closed down at the normal time.

Sunday:

Solent Rescue was on active service and completed two active patrols of the Western, there were a few capsizes of racing class dinghies off our look out, the boys were on the boat and were requested by the safety rib in attendence if they could stay around until all were righted successfully and on their way.

No intervention was required.

Later in the afternoon, Solent Rescue lookout zero’d in Hamble Lifeboat to a casualty vessel where the skipper had suffered a broken arm.  With thanks received from Hamble after the event.

Solent Rescue were on active service throughout the bank holiday weekend and attended numerous first aid incidents and completed a number of patrols of the shoreline.