Yesterday we reported on a brave RNLI crew member who risked his life to save a man trapped under Woolwich Pier.

You can now watch the hard work of the lifeboat crew above.

A lifeboat was requested to launch at 5.57am yesterday (March 17) after reports of screaming being heard from the river near Woolwich Pier.

Crew members were on the water within seconds and got to the man quickly.

However, once they arrived, they realised the lifeboat would be unable to reach the casualty due to his location under the jetty.

Attempts to deploy a floatation aid and throwline were unsuccessful and, with the casualty unable to keep himself afloat with the strong current dragging him under the surface of the water, every second counted.

The man’s life was in grave danger, so a crew member dived into the water without a helmet.

The crew member in the water felt the man’s head under the water and tried to pull him up. The man rose to the surface gasping for breath, and his rescuer took hold of him to maintain his airway and started to swim them both back to the lifeboat.

Tower lifeboat helm Steve Doherty said: "We wouldn’t normally enter the water without a helmet, but given the threat to life, the ten seconds it would have taken to put on the equipment could have proved fatal for the casualty.

‘Without the actions of the lifeboat crew, the man would not have been rescued and would have drowned. There is no doubt this is a life saved, if we had been a minute later, the man would not have survived.

"He was wrapped in blankets and transferred to Barrier Gardens Pier where he was passed into the care of the London Ambulance Service."