Red Funnel worker jumps into water after spotting man's body

William Eves, a loader for the ferry operator, did not think twice when he saw an unresponsive man in the water off Town Quay.

He noticed the body on the shoreside next to Starbucks after hearing shouts of help coming from the terminal.

The deck crew onboard the Red Falcon rushed to arrange a rescue boat.

But the 20-year-old from Southampton knew there was no time to spare and took matters into his own hands. 

The spot where the unresponsive man was found (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “It was said on the radio that he was conscious not too long prior, so I had to act.

“I needed to get him face up in the water. I knew every second he was face down, it was air he was losing.

“The decision for me was either to act to try to save someone’s life or not. For all I knew he was still alive, so I had to do something.”

The Red Funnel employee took his boots off and anything else that could hinder the rescue.

He grabbed a life ring, jumped over the fence, lowered himself into the water and swam to the body.

He then flipped the man around, rested his head on his arm with the life ring and waited for the rescue boat.

The crew arrived shortly after and helped him get the man onto the vessel.

William added: "From my point of view I was just doing what I deemed necessary to prevent the loss of life.

"I knew there was some danger of jumping in because I knew things were sticking out in the water, but I had to do something at that moment because I knew there was someone in distress who needed help."

Volunteers from Solent Rescue took the man to Town Quay Marina where paramedics were already waiting.

The coastguard was also alerted to the incident at around 2.40pm on Saturday but its lifeboat and helicopter were not needed.

The man was taken to hospital by ambulance. His condition is not known.