Police officers in Bath used an emergency floating throw rope, now carried in all response vehicles in the city, for the first time on Friday morning to rescue a woman from the River Avon.
They were on scene when the 33-year-old woman, who had earlier called 999 in a distressed state, jumped into the water from the old bridge next to Windsor Bridge Road.
PC Tom Hillier and PC Bob Prior managed to throw the rope to the woman and pull her to the sheer vertical river bank.
PC Hillier climbed down a ladder and held her out of the water, and with the help of other officers lifted her to safety up onto the towpath.
One officer, PC Shane Bancroft, a trained medic, gave her immediate first aid until an ambulance crew arrived to take her for treatment to the Royal United Hospital.
Bath’s Chief Inspector, Norman Pascal said: “This was excellent work by all the officers involved.
“We introduced these emergency throw lines around six months ago and this is the first time we have used them.
“It demonstrates the importance of having the right equipment and training when faced with such a dangerous incident.”