A group of pub-goers saved the life of a pensioner who fell into the river at Brundall.The dramatic rescue took place last Friday evening at the marina when eight friends rallied together to help pull a 75-year-old man out of the water.

A group of pub-goers saved the life of a pensioner who fell into the river at Brundall.

The dramatic rescue took place last Friday evening at the marina when eight friends rallied together to help pull a 75-year-old man out of the water.

The man, who had recently had two hip replacements, fell in at about 8pm from a gangplank leading to his boat while he and his wife were transporting items from their car.

He had their only mobile phone in his pocket and his wife was unable to get him out on her own.

By chance Tony Burford, 54, and his wife Julie, 51, who were spending the evening in the nearby Yare pub with friends, popped back to their business unit, Tony Burford Marine Windows, to fetch their car.

Mrs Burford said: “We heard some screaming and a woman came running towards us saying her husband had fallen in the water.

Tony said: “We knew we could not get him out on our own. He was a big guy and was in a lot of pain - there was no way we could have done it without help, so I called my mates at the pub and they came running.”

Darren Woollestone, 40, who was in the pub with his wife Sarah, 42, and his 37-year-old brother Justen, ran down to the marina, with friends Steve Chapman, Martin Evans, Sam Butcher, Alastair Taylor and Phil Simpson.

While some members of the group, who all live in Brundall, tried to keep the man and his wife calm, others helped to pull him out.

The man, who was just known to the group as Alan, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.