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Coastguards were called into action to rescue two men that had stripped off and leapt into the sea late one night.

One man was brought in with a life ring but the other had lost consciousness as he floated out with the tide.

Paramedics were led to believe that the amount of beer the man had drunk "probably kept him alive".

Matt Stickels, coastguard deputy station manager, who dragged the second man to safety said: "They were so cold and had been in the water for about 45 minutes.

"I went in to get the second man because I didn't know how long it would take for the lifeboat to arrive.

"He had had eight cans of beer. The paramedics said that it probably kept him alive because his body had slowed down so much that it might have helped him."

Mr Stickels said it was lucky that the two men didn't die during the dangerous incident.

"If someone hadn't thrown in the life rings then, in my experience, it would have ended in a fatality," he said.

The two men were treated at the time and were later taken to hospital in Margate.

Onlooker Michelle Cooper, 30, of Herne Bay said:

"It was very silly but hopefully it will show that something dramatic can happen when you jump off the pier.

"Both were grown men who should have known better."