A couple have told how they and passers-by saved a middle-aged man from the river Wensum.

Jason Thrower, 40, and his girlfriend Poppy Crew, 26, both of Norwich, were relaxing on the riverbank near Carrow Bridge when they saw a man struggling in the water.

Mr Thrower, who works in the construction sector, said he was preparing to jump in to try and help the man when a boat with three people onboard approached.

Mr Thrower boarded the boat and the quartet managed to pull the man out of the water after several attempts.

'Suddenly I just saw his head appear up from the water,' Mr Thrower said.

'He was struggling to stay afloat and I thought I would have to get in to try to pull him out.

'Thankfully a boat appeared so I got on that and we managed to pull him out.

'It felt like it happened very quickly but it probably took around four to five minutes to get him out after we saw him.'

The rescuers kept the man on the boat and put him in the recovery position until the emergency crews arrived soon after.

The man, described by Mr Thrower as in 30s

A spokesman for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said the man was now in the custody of the police.

The service was called to the scene at 4.24pm, and sent the water rescue team from Carrow, as well as another crew of firefighters from Carrow, and one from Sprowston as back up.

Firefighters were cleared to attend other incidents at 5.23pm.

Broadsbeat, part of Norfolk Police, tweeted: 'Been a busy one on #norfolkbroads #summerholidays #hotweather Please be careful on/around water #lifejackets #H2O

The incident occurred around six hours after one person died and another was airlifted to hospital after struggling in the water at Sea Palling.

Were you one of the boaters who helped rescue the man?

Email nicholas.carding@archant.co.uk