A LIFEBOAT was launched yesterday after a drunk man jumped from the Brighton Palace Pier.
The boat from Shoreham went to the scene at 6.10pm after having been on a training exercise.
An onlooker saw the man from the pier and threw him a life ring.
A witness on the beach, Jamie MacMillan, took these pictures. He said the lifeboat "came screaming along the coast".
The crew arrived at the scene and, using a small inflatable vessel from their big boat, got close enough to the struggling man to rescue him. He was believed to be in his 30s.
A spokeswoman for Shoreham RNLI said: "The trouble is if you're drunk and in the water, who knows what's going to happen?
"He was lucky that someone threw him a life ring."
The man was taken to hospital after being dropped off at Brighton Marina.
The spokeswoman added: "He was concious but needed to be checked over. The water was cold."
An ambulance spokesman said: "We went to Brighton Marina to meet the patient.
"The patient went to the Royal Sussex County Hospital."
Sussex Police added: "We were informed at 6.39pm by the coastguard that someone has been rescued after jumping from the pier.
"There was no police attendance needed."
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