A woman was taken to hospital with hypothermia after falling into the River Yare at Postwick, near Norwich.

A rescue operation was launched, co-ordinated by Great Yarmouth Coastguard, after the woman in her 20s was reported to have fallen from a private cruiser at 7.40pm last night.

The operation also involved the Hemsby Broads rescue team, Winterton Coastguard rescue team, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, Norfolk police and East of England Ambulance.

The woman was pulled from the river at 8.23pm, having been in the water at temperatures of about 3-4C (37-39F) for more than 40 minutes.

She was taken by ambulance to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital suffering from hypothermia, but her condition was said not to be life-threatening.

Mario Siano, watch manager for Great Yarmouth Coastguard, said: 'This happened in a remote area that is not easy to get to. It's an area of little tracks, steep banks and wooded access with lots of lock gates.

'This was a long time for anyone to be in the water and we had to get units down their pretty quickly.

'This was a multi-service incident and a successful operation that shows the value of local knowledge.'