A new year reveller in Brighton got into difficulty in the near freezing sea after going for a dip at 4am today.
The woman went for a new year swim near the Palace Pier but was soon having trouble and waved her arms frantically for help.
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A friend who had stayed on the beach dialed 999.
Officers from Sussex Police went to the scene, with the RNLI Brighton lifeboat also being called out.
Police managed to help the woman ashore while the lifeboat was still searching the area 50 yards offshore where the woman was reported as having been.
A spokesman for the lifeboat crew said “Four hours into the new year this was the first shout of 2011 for the volunteers of Brighton lifeboat and also the first maritime incident in the Solent area.”
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