Beer saves man who jumped into freezing cold sea

A man who leapt into the cold sea from a pier in Kent may have been saved by drinking eight beers before jumping.

The man and a friend reportedly stripped to their underwear and jumped into the water at Herne Bay after a drinking session.

KentOnline reports that the pair had to be rescued by emergency crews after struggling to get ashore for 45 minutes.

Coastguard deputy station manager Matt Stickels said: "If someone hadn't thrown in the life rings, then in my experience it would've ended in a fatality.

"I went in to get the second man because I didn't know how long it would take for the lifeboat to arrive. He had had eight cans of beer."

Witness Michelle Cooper watched the drama unfold and told the Daily Mail: "One man was swimming in the water. The other couldn't swim and just grabbed hold of the pier leg and wouldn't move."

"Onlookers asked him if he was okay and if he could swim. He said "no", so they threw the life ring into the water."

The men were treated by paramedics and were taken to hospital in Margate and treated for "non-life threatening injuries".

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