AN ELDERLY man was pulled to safety by firefighters after falling into the River Tavy in The Meadows park in Tavistock yesterday (Monday).

The man was rescued by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service early in the morning.

A police spokesman said: “Police were called by the ambulance service just after 6am on Monday, June 10 following concerns for a man who had fallen into the River Tavy in Tavistock. The fire service also attended. “The man, in his 70s, was rescued from the water near The Meadows by the fire service. He was taken to Derriford Hospital to be checked over.”

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: "We were called at 5:52am on Monday to an incident near Tavistock. We sent one double-crewed land ambulance and an operations officer to the scene of the incident and conveyed one patient by land ambulance to Derriford Hospital."