An unconscious man was pulled from the Thames off Greenwich yesterday (June 26) and resuscitated in front of around 50 shocked onlookers.

The incident happened just after 2.30pm, when the lifeboat crew from Tower RNLI lifeboat station were sent to reports of a man face down in the water.

They arrived up-river of Greenwich Pier and saw a number of people gathered on the foreshore which was just a metre and quickly disappearing due to the rising tide.

Helmsman Stuart Morrison explained: "The man was in his late 60s, he was unresponsive - no heartbeat, he wasn’t breathing.

"We were told he had been pulled from the water where had been lying face down. We pulled him onto the lifeboat, went on the inside of Greenwich Pier, and got him onto the pier where CPR was taken over by our crew."

Once the patient started breathing again he was taken by ambulance to hospital.