A DRUNK man fell in the River Mersey.

Cheshire Special Constabulary has shared more details about the incident which saw a huge emergency service presence called to Warrington in the early hours of this morning.

Chief officer Leon Boland and special inspector James Mann were first to arrive on the scene after receiving reports that a man who had been drinking in town had fallen into the water near Riverside Retail Park shortly after 4am.

The volunteer police officers threw him an emergency line to ensure he was kept safe until help arrived.

A spokesperson for Cheshire Constabulary said: “At around 4.15am we were in Warrington and a call came in from a resident on Knutsford Road who had heard someone shouting for help coming from the River Mersey close to the retail park.

“We were first on scene within minutes and chief officer Boland jumped into action and quickly used our in-vehicle water rescue line to immediately prevent him from going down the river or getting in further danger until water rescue fire officers from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service arrived.

“Special inspector Mann could then expertly coordinate our partner agency response to the incident.”

Police confirmed that the man had been drinking in the town centre.

He decided to walk along the river bank when he slipped, ending up in waist-height cold water and thick mud, resulting in him being “extremely cold and tired”.

“Due to the great work of the fire brigade, they swiftly got him out of the water and he was then put in the care of North West Ambulance Service and taken to hospital to get checked over and warmed up, but we are pleased to say he had no serious injuries”, the spokesperson added.

“Please do be careful near open water, especially after having alcohol, open water at this time of year is very cold and deep due to the volume of rain we have had, this could have been a very different and upsetting outcome.

“A huge thank you to the member of public who called us and then went to the location and flag us down, not all heroes wear capes!

“Even as volunteer police officers, we make such a difference every hour we volunteer putting on our uniform to keeping the communities of Cheshire safe. It is such a rewarding experience at the end of a duty, especially with incidents like this.”

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service sent five engines to the scene, one each from the Warrington, Birchwood, Powey Lane, Chester and Lymm stations.

They were joined by the water incident unit from Warrington as well as the hydraulic platform and rope rescue unit from Lymm.

A CFRS spokesperson said: “Firefighters were called to rescue a person in water in Warrington.

“Two firefighters in specialist water rescue equipment got the person to safety and to the care of waiting paramedics.

“Cheshire Police were also on scene.”