TWO MEN who rescued a woman from the River Ouse have been praised by police.

Jasper Sleeman-Hiscock was cycling to work across the Millennium Bridge at about 8.10am on Monday, when he saw a woman acting strangely.

Jasper, 36, said: "She had a high visibility jacket on and suddenly stepped up on to the side of the bridge onto the railings and just jumped without hesitation."

He said he leapt from his bike, and threw off his bag. As he was taking off his shirt and trousers to help him swim more easily, Martijn Huibers, 42, was cycling towards the river, and realised what was going on.

A passing schoolboy, Nathaniel Griffin, 15, also helped with the rescue.

Martijn said: "We ran and entered the water next to the bridge, Jasper was about 30 seconds before me.

"I took it very carefully getting in because all the information you get about the cold affecting you from the papers stuck in my head.

"When I got in I immediately noticed the temperature affecting my breathing straight away but I managed to deal with it because I was aware of it and very conscious of my breathing and helped me get rid of hyperventilating."

Jasper said: "I waded out and it quite quickly got deep. It didn't feel cold but it obviously was because quite quickly it became almost impossible to swim, it was like swimming through treacle and I almost ran out of breath in about 10 seconds.

"I grabbed her bag and used that for leverage to stop her from trying to turn. At that stage I was thinking I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get her out so shouted to Martijn to come help and he was already on his way."

Martijn said: "She was tired and had swallowed a lot of water and I think she was scared from the moment we arrived with her. She didn't really have the strength to help us get her back to the shore. Her backpack was quite heavy."

Jasper, a finance manager with Minster Law, said: "We swam with the current for a while towards the edge. It was at that point having got out covered in mud I suddenly felt bloody freezing, I hadn't felt cold until that point.

The 50-year-old woman was taken to York Hospital.

PC Neil Slater, of York Police, said: "I would like to thank the two men for their extremely brave actions, which undoubtedly saved the woman’s life. They displayed great courage and risked their own lives to help someone who was having difficulty in the water.

"If you see anyone in the river, call the emergency services immediately on 999. I would advise against going into the water yourself as the River Ouse can be hazardous for people who are not trained in water rescues."

Jasper said that without Martijn's help the outcome could have been very different: "He saved the day really. It was all sort of in slow motion when she went in.

"I absolutely couldn't have done it by myself. It was too cold and she was just getting heavier as the jacket and clothes got wetter."

Martijn, who grew up in the Netherlands but has lived in York for more than six years and is a project engineer with Network Rail, said: "I think eventually the whole thing lasted about 30 minutes from arriving at the bridge. After that, it was off to the office and taking a good warm shower and borrowing a towel. We were both given something to drink and checked over by paramedics.

"It was quite a start to Monday morning. I'm quite tired because of unplanned exercise and just this morning we had a discussion and presentation at work about fatigue in the workplace and I thought that's exactly how I feel at this moment."

Nathaniel, who was passing on his way to Fulford School, said: "I helped pull the lady out of the water and offered her my coat. By the time I got to the scene, she was almost at the water's edge so I didn't go further than half a metre into the water.

"I helped pull her out of the water and I got her bag onto the bank. I made sure that the police had everything under control before I left for school. The worst thing for me was when I got to school and found out I hadn't missed my business lesson! And obviously I hope she is being treated properly and taken seriously."