A man was pulled from the river in Maryport last night after falling from his moped into the water.

A major rescue operation was launched just after 11pm following reports that a man was in the River Ellen near to Well Lane.

Four fire crews were sent out along with the coastguard, Maryport inshore rescue, police and ambulance.

A coastguard spokesman said the man was inebriated and had fallen from his moped into the river.

When Workington fire crew arrived, firefighters put a ladder down to the river and tied a rope around the man to wait for the inshore rescue team to pull him onto the boat.

He was then taken to the dock slipway where a "human chain" was formed by emergency services to carry the stretcher into a waiting ambulance.

A spokesman for Maryport coastguard said: "The casualty was located and stabilised, but as the tide was flooding and immediate first aid was required it was decided to request the launch of Maryport Inshore Rescue to aid in the casualty's recovery from the water.

"As more units from Cumbria Fire and Rescue arrived on scene the casualty was recovered to the lifeboat slipway and a human chain was formed to pass the stretcher from the lifeboat and into the care of the ambulance crew and paramedics."

A spokesman for Workington fire and rescue said: "We put a nine-metre ladder down and got a line round him to hold him up. He'd been in the water for 45 minutes by the time we got there.

"We waited for Maryport Inshore Rescue to come and rescue him. They put him in the boat and took him round to the dock and up the slipway to the waiting ambulance."