A father jumped into a fast-flowing West Sussex river to save his daughter from being swept out to sea.

Dozens of passers-by desperately called for help as the pair were washed down the River Arun at Littlehampton on Saturday afternoon.

The man grabbed a life ring from nearby railings and leapt into the river after his daughter, aged about four, fell in.

He managed to grab the terrified girl and hold on to her.

The pair were rescued by a fisherman coming into the harbour in his boat.

A Coastguard spokesman said: "The fisherman picked them up and plonked them on to a nearby pontoon, then disappeared.

"The father and daughter were extremely lucky the boat was passing at just the right time.

"They were moving down the river quickly and would have been washed out to sea.

"The father was very brave but I guess that is what you would do if it was your little girl."

Witnesses described how the pair stepped out of the boat uninjured and the boat sailed away.

The spokesman said: "The whole incident is a bit of a mystery.

"We had an endless stream of calls from the public who told us what was going on.

"But we have no details of the pair or the fisherman because they all disappeared as soon as they got to the shore. We would like to find out who the fisherman was."