A young man was saved from the Thames on Monday night, after a Kingston canal boat owner used his tender, a small river boat, to mount a search in the dark with dangerously strong river currents.

The rescuer found the man unconscious and partially submerged near Kingston rowing club at about 10pm, and hauled him onboard after putting a life ring around him.

Fellow boaters, gathered on the river bank with towels and blankets, were about to start resuscitation attempts when he started coughing up water. An ambulance took him to Kingston Hospital, although his condition is unclear.

In a similar incident last month, a family of houseboat owners used a boat to help save a drowning man's life on a nearby stretch of the river.

Did you see what happened? Contact martingeorge@london.newsquest.co.uk