A MAN had to be rescued by lifeboat after running into the sea as he tried to escape from the police.
Shortly after 6pm on Tuesday, police were called to a disturbance in Whitburn Road, in Sunderland and tried to detain a 20-year-old man, who had been drinking.
However, he ran off and threw himself into the North Sea at Cliffe Park, Seaburn. Officers threw the man a life buoy and called the Coastguard, who despatched an inshore lifeboat.
Paul Nicholson, Senior Helmsman at Sunderland RNLI said "As we arrived, the man managed to pull himself out of the sea and onto Parsons Rock.
"We were asked to standby in close proximity while the police attempted to negotiate with him."
After about 20 minutes the man agreed to climb from Parsons Rock onto the promenade where he was promptly detained by police.
A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault."
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