Firefighter Allan Richardson was hailed a hero after plunging into a treacherous river to save a drowning man.

The stricken 61-year-old was disappearing under the water as he was whipped along by a strong current.

Emergency services received a 999 call last night about the man who had fallen into the River Tyne outside Newcastle's Copthorne Hotel.

Nine firefighters from the city's Pilgrim Street station set up a rescue point down river near Flynns Bar and Alan, attached to a safety line, went into the river and snatched the man to safety.

Mr Richardson, 41, said: "When we got there, we could see him in the water and the tide was taking him out quite fast. "I put on a life jacket, climbed down a ladder and intercepted him. Someone had thrown him a life raft earlier on but it looked like he was slipping through it.

"He was drifting in and out of consciousness and was quite distressed. I was talking to him all the time to see what level of consciousness he was at.

"It was very cold and that affects your body. I was concerned that he would collapse. It was safe just to hold him there. I held on to him tightly and talked to him about anything and everything like football, the weather and where he was from.

"We waited for the police boat to come. It felt like we were in the water for ages but apparently it was only a few minutes."

The man, believed to be from Newcastle, was pulled onto the police boat and taken to a landing outside the Pitcher and Piano bar where paramedics attended to him and took him to the Freeman Hospital.

While Alan was in the water, other firefighters were standing equipped on top of the ladder, attached to safety lines, in case anything went wrong.

If they had not caught the man at the Flynns Bar point, they would have had to come out of the water again and set up another rescue point further down the river.

Alan, who is married and has a three-year-old son, is usually based at the Fossway fire station in Newcastle and has been trained in using the fire boat.

This was the first time he has rescued someone but he believes it was a team effort.

He added: "So many things go through your head and things happen so quickly. I just remember thinking it was cold and I had to keep a hold of him.

"It was a fantastic feeling when we got him out of the water. But it was a team effort. It just happened that I went into the river and got him out.

The rest of the team were on hand in case something happened.

"I started this job 12 years ago because I admired firefighters. The job satisfaction is second to none. It sounds cheesy but you are helping people out in the community everyday."

Keith Bell, station officer at Pilgrim Street, said: "In situations like this, time is vital. You have got to get to the person within the first few minutes.

"Otherwise he could have drifted down further and there is a danger of hypothermia setting in."

Mr Richardson lives in Darlington. He moved there from Heaton five years ago.