THREE Kent police officers could be in line for bravery awards after risking their lives to rescue a father and his child. Little Matthew Gentry, seven, was dramatically plucked from the River Thames after falling 20ft through a hole on Greenhithe Pier while on a fishing trip.

Matthew's father, Jim, 30, plunged into the ice cold water in a bid to save him, but had to be rescued himself after he was unable to scramble back on to the algae-ridden pier.

Sergeant Neil Evans and PCs Jackie Lomas, Tony Francis and Andy Beviere arrived at the scene and found the pair cowering underneath the wooden structure.

It was about 1am on Saturday and they had been in the Thames for 30 minutes during which time the water level had risen six feet. The officers threw down a buoy with some rope attached to it, supplied by the Thames Coastguard, and managed to pull out a remarkably calm Matthew.

It took the combined strength of three officers and a family friend to drag Mr Gentry, of Hibbs Close, Swanley, to safety. Matthew had been playing with his eight-year-old friend Jay - son of Jim's work colleague, Kevin Eastwood - when he fell into the freezing water.

Mr Gentry said: "All I heard was screams of 'Dad!' after he fell in. Kevin was reeling something in when we heard a huge splash. Matthew managed to wrap himself around a wooden beam and I went down to get him. But I couldn't get back up."

"Matthew was so calm - he didn't even cry. I was losing my rag. I would like to say a big thank you to all the emergency services. They all put themselves at risk to come and save us."

Sgt Evans described the situation as horrendous. "The rain was pouring down and it was very dark. The life boats weren't able to reach the victims so we had to go out on to the pier ourselves," he said.

Inspector Richard Cherry, who oversaw the rescue operation, said: "The pier is fenced off with barbed wire and there are numerous warning signs posted for obvious reasons.

"I will be putting the three officers forward for bravery awards, but this is more about public safety as the pier is not a safe place to be at any time of day. The important thing is that people's lives were saved."