PSNI Save Man's Life In Coleraine

PSNI officers from the Coleraine Neighbourhood Policing team have saved a man's life.

Officers responded within 30 seconds of an emergency call from a member of the public who saw a man in distress on the wrong side of the Old Bridge in Coleraine.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "Having arrived and found that the man was agitated and upset they attempted to reason and negotiate with him to no avail and sadly he chose to jump into the icy cold water of the River Bann. Undeterred by this the officers immediately deployed rescue lines on both sides of the river and with the rapid support of colleagues from C Section Coleraine the officers searched by torch light in an attempt to locate this male in the cold dark waters.

"After repeated attempts to get this male to grab the rescue lines, officers showed incredible bravery by entering the water and wading out to bring this man to the shore and having done so managed to save his life. Having been in the water for over five minutes and clearly suffering from the effects of the cold water this man was then taken to a waiting ambulance for treatment at Causeway A&E.

"Possibly the most surprising part of this incident is that the 6 officers involved returned to Coleraine PSNI station changed their uniforms and returned to patrol duties."

(CD/LM)