A man had a lucky
escape on Monday after he survived being swept over Shiplake Weir on the Thames
in Henley.

He had been attempting
to help a school rowing team who were in difficulty when the incident occurred at
around 4:45pm.

The support boat the
man was onboard was swept under the weir’s safety chains, sending him into the
water.

Royal Berkshire Fire
and Rescue station manager Jeremy James said the man was “extremely lucky” to
have survived.

Speaking to the BBC,
Mr James said: “An adult member of staff went through the catch ropes and then
continued to come down the river with the vessel.”

“The member of staff,
we believe, held on to part of that structure but could only hold on for so
long when he let go and then came down through those gates and then got flushed
out further down the river.”

The man suffered
minimal injuries as a result of the incident.