OFFICERS involved in the rescue of a man who jumped into the Solent on Thursday evening have spoken of the moment they pulled him to safety.

The officers saved the 23-year-old man as he began to lose consciousness.

PC Barber was on shift when the call came in that a man had thrown himself off the Gosport to Portsmouth ferry pier at Gosport.

He said: "We got there as fast as we could. We saw his head and arms bobbing about in the water and clambered down to him. My sergeant grabbed one arm and I got hold of the other and we all pulled him up.

Sgt Linda Howard, who was involved in the rescue along with PC Andrea Commins, added: "The conditions were atrocious but everybody responded well to what was going on.''

The man was taken to hospital suffering from shock and exposure.