Emergency services have come to the aid of a man standing in the water off Penarth Pier in what one witness described as a "shocking" incident.

According to a number of witnesses, the man was standing in the water for roughly 20 minutes before police arrived.

They proceeded to take him out of the water onto the cement girders of the Pier before lifting him onto the deck using a lifebuoy.

He was then taken away, presumably to receive medical treatment.

"I just saw a guy standing in the water and all the police came running," said witness and photographer Ryan Sargent.

"He was just staying still. I think he must have had hypothermia. There were loads of people running.

"The police lifted him out of the water with a lifebuoy and they brought him a jacket, they walked him through the Pier

"Then the lifeguards came out with their boats."

Nub News arrived at the scene at 16:20 as the RNLI lifeboats entered the water. By then, the man had been taken away.

"I was definitely shocked and surprised because it was very unexpected.

"Nobody knew he was in there but I saw a police officer sprint past me so I knew something bad has happened.

"He was frozen. He could barely move."

"He said he jumped in but nobody saw him jump," another witness named Tom recalled.

"He was in the water for about 20 minutes or something like that."

A police officer said: "As soon as we got the call, we got there roughly three minutes after - so there must have been a delay in the call."

The RNLI's operation manager Jason Dunlop issued the following advice:

"It's important for people to know that if you see someone in the sea, who you feel could be in difficulty, to call 999 and ask for the coastguard."

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