Firefighters launched a dramatic river rescue after a man tripped over and got stuck in the mud at Medway Bridge Marina near Rochester in the early hours of this morning.

The boat owner, in his 50s became "confused and disorientated" after wandering along the wrong slipway and toppling over a jetty.

A crew from Strood located him by tracking his footsteps in the mud at the marina in Borstal after he called on his mobile just after 1am.

Ken Spratt, watch manager, said: "It took us about 10 minutes to find him. He was confused, disorientated, cold and obviously shock was setting in.

"We had a spinal board just in case he had sustained an injury in the fall."

A paramedic on the shore assessed him "remotely" and firefighters pulled him out.

The man, who lives on a boat at the yard , was treated at the scene by an ambulance team.

Mr Spratt said: "The tide would not have been a problem as it was about five hours away.

"But it is worth remembering that cold mud absorbs the body heat in a similar way that water does, so it could have easily have brought on hypothermia if he had been there any longer."

A crew from Larkfield with a fire recsue boat were alerted, but not needed.

The incident ended just before 1.30am