A man in his 50s had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew after jumping into the river to help his pet dog.

The man, and his wife, were walking on the Walberswick side of the River Blyth in Southwold at lunchtime today (Monday) when the younger of their two Hungarian Vizsla pet dogs fell into the water beneath Southwold Harbour.

With Southwold lifeboat station nearby, the volunteer crew from the RNLI lifeboat – the Annie Tranmer – were called out after the man, who is believed to be from the Ipswich area, had jumped into the water to try and save his dog but then got into difficulties.

The lifeboat launched just after noon, with the Southwold and Lowestoft Coastguard Rescue Teams and the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust called to the scene.

A spokesman for RNLI Southwold Lifeboat said: 'The water is painfully cold at this time of the year, roughly three degrees, and the man realised he could not exit the water.'

As the incident happened barely 100 yards away from the lifeboat station – near to where the River Blyth enters the North Sea – the spokesman added: 'The crew were there very quickly and managed to recover the owner and his dog from the water.'

A spokesman for HM Coastguard Lowestoft & Southwold said: 'We were called to Southwold Harbour, following reports a man had gone into the water to help his pet dog.

'The man was taken to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston. Our advice would be that if any pet dogs go into the harbour and are stranded in the river, then the owners should call the coastguard and lifeboat.

'Don't go into the water yourselves.'

The lifeboat spokesman added that the pet dog was 'absolutely fine.'

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust said; 'We were called at just before 1pm today to Ferry Road, Southwold, to a report of a man in the water.

'A rapid response vehicle and ambulance crew attended to the patient, who had been taken to the lifeboat station. He was assessed at the scene and was taken to James Paget University Hospital for further treatment.'