Man rescued by Coastguard after trying to swim from North to South Shields 'for a bet'

People are being warned of the dangers of the sea, after the coastguard had to rescue a man attempting to swim from North Shields to South Shields.

He was first spotted by passengers on the Shields Ferry, who then raised the alarm and called rescuers.

It is believed he had been drinking, and was doing it 'for a bet' - and at first had refused to get out of the water.

A spokesperson from Nexus said: “There was a report of a man in the water a few hundred metres down river from our North Shields landing, next to the North Shields Fish Quay.

“The pilot boat and the lifeboat attended the scene and a man was spotted and rescued from the water by the crew of the pilot boat."

He was picked up by the pilot boat when he was about two thirds of the way across. 

The River Tyne is a dangerous place to swim, as even when it looks calm, undercurrents have the potential to drag a person under and keep them there.

In addition, the cold water can be such a shock to the system that a swimmer seizes up and may find themselves in a state of panic.

An RNLI lifeboat spokesperson added: "At 2.10pm HM Coastguard paged the Brigade with a request to proceed to North Shields Fish Quay to carry out a welfare check on a person who was reported to have been in the River Tyne, fully clothed, and possibly under the influence of alcohol.

"Brigade members arrived on scene and spoke with a group of fishermen who said that the casualty had been seen to climb out of the water and then leave the area unaided.

"With no sign of the casualty in the local area, the Coastguard confirmed that they were satisfied no further assistance was required and the Brigade was stood down.

The Shields Ferry delayed its departure from North Shields for a few minutes whilst the rescue took place, remaining on standby should the vessel and crew be needed to assist.

A Nexus spokesperson added: “The Shields Ferry crew are specially trained to rescue people from the water in the event they are required to do so, although they were not called upon during this incident.”

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