Drunk man rescued after jumping into sea at Clacton Pier

The reminder comes after Tendring Council Beach Patrol had to rescue a drunk man who jumped off Clacton Pier at the weekend.

Beach Patrol staff witnessed the man leap from the Pier, an act known as tombstoning, at around 3pm on Sunday, April 10.

Alex Porter, Tendring councillor responsible for leisure and tourism said though the Essex sunshine coast is a beautiful place to visit, the sea must be treated with respect.

He said: “This gentleman has had a lucky escape, as he could have come to harm from the fall, the cold waters, or the currents under the pier – all of these are risks on any coastline, not just ours.

“The TDC Beach Patrol team do a fantastic job throughout the season to make our coastline and popular beaches as safe as they can be, along with our partners such as the Coastguard, RNLI and the Clacton Volunteer Lifeguards.”

The dangers of tombstoning are high especially at a low tide, as serious injury can be caused by jumping into shallow water.

Knowing this, the Beach Patrol staff leapt into action to assist the man using their boat.

Luckily the man was found uninjured, though quite intoxicated and aggressive, and escorted to shore where he was given a first aid assessment, and shortly afterwards arrested by police for being drunk and disorderly.

Mr Porter added: “It is pleasing to see our beaches already popular during the Easter break, but people must respect the water and consider their own safety; we want to be giving advice, not having to rescue people.”

Tendring Council Beach Patrol operates from Clacton’s West Beach and Walton’s Albion Beach during the school Easter holidays and weekends and bank holidays.

From the June half-term operations expand to cover Frinton, Brightlingsea, Dovercourt and Clacton’s Martello Bay, again through the school half-term and summer holidays as well as weekends and bank holidays.

Teams are on duty from 11am-6pm weekends and bank holidays, and 11am-5pm on weekdays.