Three seafront workers have been praised by the council for helping to rescue two men who jumped into the sea from the Palace Pier at the weekend.
The two men remained in hospital, Sussex Police said yesterday (Tuesday 30 August), two days after their “tombstoning” leap into the water at low tide.
Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The quick response and brave actions of three members of our seafront team, along with emergency services, helped rescue two people from the sea near the Palace Pier on Sunday evening.
“Seafront officers Fabian Bull, Chaz Branson and Jake Walker rushed to the scene on just before 7pm following reports of two people in the water near the Palace Pier, one of them face down.
“Fabian and Chaz swam around 300 metres to find one man unconscious and face down in the water and another unresponsive, shaking and clinging to a life ring under the pier.
“Using their skills, training and rescue equipment, they managed to deliver rescue breaths to the unconscious man and bring both men back to shore where Jake was waiting with resuscitation equipment to begin CPR.
“Paramedics arrived shortly afterwards and took over with advanced life support.
“An off-duty doctor also supported paramedics to help the second man who was hypothermic, in shock and suffering from lower back and leg pain.
“The lifeboat and a helicopter were quickly on the scene to assist.
“Both men were treated at the scene and taken to hospital.”
Mr Bull said “This was an extremely challenging situation but I’m glad to have had Chaz and Jake there with me.
“We worked well as a team to bring the two men back to shore as quickly as we could.
“Unfortunately, this again highlights just how dangerous it is to jump from a pier. At low tide, it’s impossible to tell how deep the water is.”
While the three men were carrying out the rescue, three off-duty lifeguards, Yann Stanford, Michael Nel and Tyler Samuel, changed into uniform to help manage the large crowd that had gathered.
The council added: “Unfortunately, while trying to do this, they did receive abuse from some members of the public.
“This was extremely disappointing to hear as our team put their lives on the line every day to help others and deserve nothing but our admiration and respect.”
