A man jumped off Chester's Grosvenor Bridge this evening but lived to tell the tale.
Witnesses reported a 'confirmed jumper' from the bridge just before 10pm on Monday (May 25) sparking a full response from the emergency services who assembled in the Little Roodee car park and on the bridge.
Crews feared the worst given the substantial drop, estimated at more than 30 feet, into waist high water.
Searches involving the police helicopter failed to detect the body heat of the jumper and then it emerged he had been picked up on CCTV by the Bouverie pub in Garden Lane, soaking wet but apparently uninjured.
Inspector Andy Ross, force incident manager with Cheshire Police, said the man, who is in his 30s, had got out of the water on his own. He was complaining of 'banging his head' but had not suffered life threatening injuries.
Ambulance crews and police located the man who will be thoroughly checked out before being detained under Mental Health Act for his own safety.
Barry Williams, station manager at Chester Fire Station, speaking before the incident had been concluded, said: "It sounds like somebody has got out of the river, possibly down near the Garden Lane area, seen dripping wet.
"We have set up a scene of operations just in case. We've been searching and not found a person. To be honest, I think the guy's got out the water, safe and sound."
He said the man had been 'very lucky' given he had jumped more than 30 feet into 'shallow water'.
