by Keyan Milanian

A young woman had her head held above the water to prevent her slipping under after she fell from a bridge over the M2 into mud by the River Medway.

Off-duty coastguard Jon Cole, who lives nearby, and coastguards John Lovage and Clive Tillotson were first on the scene under the bridge between Cuxton and Chatham on Monday, having used the work boat stationed at Medway Bridge Marina, to reach her.

She had landed in mud around 50m from the shore.

They held her head above water while waiting for the mud rescue team from Strood. Police, firefighters and paramedics were there by around 7.30pm.

The woman - who is 26 and thought to be from Northfleet - was brought to shore and taken to hospital. She was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her condition this morning is unclear.

The emergency services had left the scene by around 9.15pm.

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