POLICE officers undergoing waterside training had to put their skills to the test much sooner than anticipated after a member of the public got into difficulty in the water.

PCs Anna Groves and Tom Eldridge along with another officer from the Force Support Unit, were undergoing training to qualify as reserve officers for the Marine Unit based in Burnham.

The three officers were practising handling one of the smaller vessels at Burnham Marina yesterday (May 11) when they saw a man fall into the water as he climbed from a boat to the jetty.

The team quickly went to help the man and found that he had become tangled in a rope under the water.

Supervised by their trainer, PC Daren Chambers, the three officers put into action what they had learnt in their training about recovering people from the water and helped the man to safety.

Thankfully, the man was not hurt and was left in the care of his family.

Marine Unit Sergeant, Alex Southgate said: “I'm really proud of these new members of our team.

“They remained calm and applied what they had learnt in their training scenario.

“Thanks to their swift and diligent actions the man was quickly brought to safety.”

Once qualified, each officer supports the Marine Unit two days a month.