A man was almost swept away by the Thames tide before he was saved by a lifeboat crew near Kew Bridge.

The man, who clung on to an oar for his life, was saved by a crew from Chiswick RNLI on Tuesday, June 3, when they pulled him from the river.

The crew said the man was so shaken and cold he would not have lasted much longer.

RNLI helmsman Garry Tiller said: “While others were aiding the casualty when the lifeboat arrived, they were not able to remove him from the water as he was at the base of a wall and they were at least 2m above him.

“He was very cold and tired having been in the water for about 30 minutes, and was beginning to panic. “He could only have held on for a short while longer and would then have been swept away.

“The only other vessels in the area were single sculling boats and one coaching vessel – none of which would have had the stability or capacity to affect the rescue.”