A man had a lucky escape after jumping from Deal pier and getting into difficulty.

Walmer RNLI Lifeboat volunteer crew were called at 2.30pm on Saturday to reports a man was shouting for help in the water.

The D class lifeboat Duggie Rodboard was launched immediately.

He had jumped from the pier head and had been caught by the ebb tide and was unable to swim against it. Instead it was taking him south.

The Pier Master heard the man shouting, called 999 and reported the incident to the coastguard.

Walmer RNLI lifeboat helmsman Andrew Coe said: "The sea can often seem inviting on a hot summers day however the tidal flow can be very powerful and often impossible to swim against.

"In addition the sea is still very cold at this time of year, with the average sea temperature being just 12°C."

The helmsman was able to establish that the man had been able to swim to shore south of the pier and was safely out of the water.

After performing an assessment of the casualty and concluding that he was fine, the lifeboat returned to station.

Lifeboat operations manager Denis Brophy said: "The RNLI are currently running a respect the water campaign and people can find lots of information on the RNLI website which will help them stay safe whilst enjoying our beaches and coastal waters."

Visit www.rnli.org.uk/walmer