A dramatic rescue was launched to save a woman thrown into the River Medway when her narrowboat collided with another craft near Wouldham this afternoon.

Emergency services and Medway Coastguard were called to Medway Valley crossing at about 4.45pm when a narrowboat travelling upstream from its mooring at Cuxton Marina was caught by the tide as it passed through the arches of the bridge.

The narrowboat was then blown into a safety craft moored at a temporary jetty.

The impact knocked the woman - thought to be steering the craft into the water -near the boat’s propeller.

She was not wearing a lifejacket and clung to a wooden plank to stay afloat.

Workers from building contractor BAM Nuttall LTD used the undamaged safety craft to rescue the woman, who is thought to be in her 50s.

She was taken to shore where she was treated by paramedics for head injuries.

“This certainly could have been a lot worse" - Richard Montgomery

Coastguard rescue officer Richard Montgomery, said: “This certainly could have been a lot worse.

“When police arrived they took her back to Cuxton Marina.”

A man and a woman also on the narrowboat at the time of the accident were unharmed.

Construction of the Medway Valley crossing started in 2014.

It is being built to access Peters Village, a new 1,000 development and will join the A228 at Snodland with the village of Halling.