An elderly woman is recovering in hospital after being pulled from the River Medway.

The woman in her 70s, described as ‘vulnerable’, was found by North Kent coastguards who pulled her from the water at The Strand, Gillingham.

A joint operation co-ordinated by police involved coastguards from the Medway and Sheppey teams who scoured the area between Sun Pier and Riverside Country Park in their search for the woman.

She was found by a coastguard team at 1.06am suffering from hypothermia and was transferred by ambulance to Medway Maritme Hospital.

Richard Rodgers, deputy station officer at Medway Coastguard, said: "We believe she may have been sitting on the sea wall.

"She was suffering from hypothermia when we found her but she was probably only in the water for five or 10 minutes."

Fifteen coastguards scoured the coast.

Police also used dogs in the search.

The woman was reported missing at 11.50pm on Sunday night and was found by about 1.30am on Monday.

She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital as a precautionary measure.