A dog walker was rescued from 'fast flowing' water in the River Roding near Loughton yesterday.
A woman, fearful for her dog's safety, had waded into the river to help her pet after it jumped into the water.
Passersby attempted to rescue the woman when it became clear the she was in trouble and could get out of the water.
However, after an unsuccessful 30 minutes of trying to pull her up the bank, Essex Fire an Rescue Service were called to the scene shortly after 3.30pm (Monday, March 8).
Crew manager Glenn Jackson, of Loughton Fire Station, said: "Like most of these incidents, the dog was fine and managed to get out of the river relatively quickly, but the woman couldn't get herself out as the banks were very steep. The water was around 5ft deep so came up to her neck and it was quite fast flowing.
"Other dog walkers saw the women in distress and tried to help her by holding onto her and pull her up the bank, but they were unsuccessful.
"By this time the women and the helpers were absolutely exhausted, so after 30 minutes of trying to help her called 999.
"When we turned up we immediately prepared our Swift Water Rescue equipment and rescued the women. She was freezing cold and exhausted so was taken to hospital.
"We can not stress this message enough - if you see someone in water please call 999 immediately."
A spokesperson for Essex Fire added: "Being in cold water is extremely dangerous especially for this length of time and the outcome could have been very different. Over 700 people drown in the UK every year - that's more deaths than in fires or cycling incidents so we want people to take note of our warning and to take extra care around water and always call 999 immediately. If you see someone in trouble in water, call out to the person to reassure them that help is on the way, encourage them to keep still, as if possible find something that floats for them to hold onto.
"If you have a dog that gets into trouble in water, never put yourself at risk by getting in the water to try and rescue them."
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