A huge rescue operation was launched after a man was found hanging upside down from his ankle in a harbour.

Police, fire crews, lifeboat volunteers, the coastguard and paramedics were called out to East Pier in Ramsgate in the early hours of this morning.

The man is thought to have tripped while on an open staircase and got his foot wedged between the metal steps.

This left him stuck on the stairs and dangling perilously above the water in the harbour.

But the emergency crews were able to dislodge his ankle and lower him into the lifeboat.

The man was later taken by ambulance to hospital.

Ian Cannon, coxswain at Ramsgate Lifeboat Station, told KentOnline: "I assume he was going down the steps and got caught up.

"We think he tripped and got caught by his leg on one of the steps."

A police spokesman said officers had been called at 3.31am "following a report of concern for a man".

Two fire engines and a rescue team were called to assist police at 3.42am.

A fire service spokesman said: "Crews used a rescue sling to release a trapped casualty who was then passed into the care of paramedics."

The crews left the scene at 5.05am.

Read more: All the latest news from Ramsgate