A POLICE officer has spoken of the moment he risked his life by jumping into a freezing river to save a drowning man.
Sergeant Mike Bailey dragged the 77-year-old man to safety from the swollen River Hull.
The pensioner was in the freezing, fast-flowing water for 11 minutes after jumping from Sutton Bridge in east Hull.
Sgt Bailey said: "I didn't appreciate how strong the tide would be. I was just thinking about getting him out alive.
"It was only afterwards I thought we both could have died, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.
"In 20 years' service, I've never done anything like that.
"But you do it and move on. It's just my job."
Senior police officers have praised Sgt Bailey for his bravery in saving the man.
Both men were treated at Hull Royal Infirmary after the dramatic rescue.
Sgt Bailey, an incident response officer based at Clough Road, said: "When I got there, the man had been in the river for quite a while and the water was moving strongly, pulling him further down in the direction of the Humber.
"He had been in there for so long that I knew he would be getting close to the limit of what he could take.
"I do wild swimming anyway, so I knew what the water would be like, so I just went in. I caught up with him quite quickly because of the strength of the tide and grabbed the back of his jumper and tried to pull him to the side.
"I knew the hardest bit would be getting out."
Sgt Bailey was helped out of the water by two workmen, Tony Brewitt and Gary Whitehurst, who had tried to save the man before police arrived.
The garage door fitters threw ropes and straps towards the officer, which Sgt Bailey used to wrap around himself and the man, and they pulled the pair to safety.
Mr Brewitt, 35, said: "We were driving over the bridge and there was a woman standing looking panicked. We turned round and could see there was an old man in the water.
"We got some straps out of the back of the van and ran down the bank. I went down the mud and into the water up to my knees, where I managed to grab him but he slipped out of my fingers and started getting pulled further down.
"Gary was at the top of the bank trying to the throw the straps down, but the man just wouldn't get hold of them.
"It was freezing but I didn't realise it at the time. I would have done it for anyone though. I didn't think about any danger."
Mr Whitehurst, 32, put the man into the recovery position when he was pulled from the water before he was treated by paramedics. He said: "It was freezing cold and the river was really fast-flowing, but I knew we had to help him.
"I couldn't just stand there and watch him die. That was all that was on my mind, not any danger that we were in."
Sgt Bailey said: "I wouldn't have been able to get him out without the help of the two men who were there."
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Donald said Sgt Bailey showed "amazing bravery" by going into the waters on Wednesday.
Chief Superintendent Rick Proctor, head of policing in Hull, said: "Sgt Bailey displayed great bravery in rescuing the man from the river. His actions appear to have potentially saved the man's life."
