A 21-year-old man is in a critical condition in a Brighton hospital after falling 30ft on to the promenade.
The man climbed over seafront railings in King’s Road opposite the bottom of West Street, Brighton, just before 11pm on Saturday night (28 January).
Sussex Police said that a friend tried to encourage him to climb back over the railings to safety.
Two police officers on the Lower Esplanade also saw the man and one of them called to him to go back.
The second officer went up a set of stairs to join the man’s friend but as he made it to street level the 21-year-old fell.
Police and paramedics gave him first aid and immediate medical help before he was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
The man, who comes from Sidcup in Kent and was on a night out with friends, is in a critical condition with several broken bones.
His family have been contacted and relatives have visited him in hospital.
Sussex Police said: “It is not clear exactly why he fell but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.
“The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been informed as a matter of standard procedure because police officers were present when he fell.
“We would like to hear from anyone else who was in that area late on Saturday night and who saw anything of this incident or what led up to it.”
Witnesses are asked to contact Sussex Police on 101.