A man was rescued from the Thames on Saturday after he fell asleep on the river’s banks and accidentally rolled into the water.
 
A lifeboat crew was sent out to rescue the man who was stranded on the north foreshore near Blackfriars Bridge in the early hours.
 
By the time rescue crews arrived, the man was standing on a small patch of land and had not suffered any injuries.
 
Tower lifeboat helmsman Kevin Maynard said: “We quickly located the man who told us he had lain down on the embankment wall and must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was falling through the air.
 
“He said he landed in the river and then managed to get out on to a bit of exposed land.
 
“We took him back to Tower lifeboat station, next to Waterloo Bridge, where we handed him into the care of the London Ambulance Service.”
 
Lifeboat station manager Janet Kelly urged people to take care around the Thames in response to the incident.
 
“It can be enjoyed safely as long as people treat it with respect and I would certainly advise people do not fall asleep on the river wall,” she said.