A woman and her would-be rescuer were pulled from the River Ouse in York in a dramatic rescue yesterday evening.

The woman is believed to have jumped into the river from a riverside pub. Several people phoned 999 as the current pulled her downstream in the Skeldergate Bridge area.

A man went into the river after her and held onto her as she clung to a pontoon until firefighters arrived with the fire service boat from Clifford Street and two fire engines.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the crews from York and Acomb Fire Stations used throwing lines and wading poles and pulled both the woman and her would-be rescuer to shore.

The spokesman said the woman was attended by paramedics and was uninjured.