A woman who fell into a river in the Broads was rescued after struggling to stay afloat and remain conscious.

Hemsby Broads Rescue was paged on Tuesday (June 15) at 10.15pm to reports of a woman in the water near Irstead on the River Ant.

Winterton and Bacton Coastguard teams were also paged.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: A woman fell from her cruiser into the River Ant near Irstead on Tuesday, June 15.A woman fell from her cruiser into the River Ant near Irstead on Tuesday, June 15. (Image: archant 2017)

The woman had fallen from her cruiser and despite attempts by the vessel's two other occupants to rescue her, she was still in the water when the Hemsby lifeboat arrived.

By that point, her condition had worsened, and she was struggling to stay afloat and remain fully conscious.

Two crew members boarded the woman's boat while the others recovered her from the water.

All this time, she was being prevented from drowning with the use of a life ring and rope held with some effort by one of the other people on board her vessel.

Once the woman was out of the water, she was taken to dry land and cared for while the ambulance was on its way.

Crew eventually returned home at 3am.

Chris Batten, secretary for Hemsby Lifeboat, has thanked a local resident and fisherman who offered assistance.

He also said: "While we were pleased to see the use of the life ring to keep the casualty afloat, it is so very important that lifejackets are worn at all times when on or near the water on the Norfolk Broads.

"There is no doubt that the wearing of lifejackets saves lives," he added.