A man heading home after a night out took a short cut by swimming across a river.

The Littlehampton lifeboat was called out at around 7am this morning following reports of a swimmer making his way across the River Arun from the west beach to the east beach.

The man was among a group of four friends who were heading back to the town centre.

Three of them took the footbrige back to town while their friend decided to risk the quicker route.

Lifeboat operations manager Nick White said the man had made it safely across although he needed some help when he got stuck in some mud.

He said: “We did not have to much to help him. We came out because people had seen him in the river and were worried he would not make it.

“We had to clean him up a bit and someone got some clothes but otherwise he was okay .

“The Arun is very fast flowing at this point and the current can be very strong.

“We would advise people not to risk swimming there as it could be very dangerous.”