YOUNGSTERS who have been jumping 15 ft (4.5metres) from a wall into the river Severn at the edge of a Worcester park are risking their lives.

The warning came after a 21-year-old Droitwich man was rescued by a couple who were rowing past in a hire boat.

People living in nearby Waterworks Road, Barbourne, Worcester, helped haul the man, believed to be called Ed, out of the water.

However, they said groups of teenagers and young adults were often seen daring each other to run along the wall, which is only 6in wide and drops directly into a stretch of the river between Worcester Racecourse and Gheluvelt Park. One man, who helped with the rescue, said: "They were egging each other on.

"One of them fell off the wall straight into the river. I think it was a shock to the system."

After realising he could not get out, the man swam to the opposite river bank and clung to branches until the boat reached him and towed him to the garden of a riverside home. Paramedics were called because he was blue with cold, complaining of pains in his legs and said he could not stand up.

An ambulance took him to Worcestershire Royal Hospital at about 6pm on Sunday, to warm up and for a check up but he was expected to be released soon afterwards.

The rescuer, who asked not to be named, said: "We are going to see a lot more of it. It's the same as last year. The paramedics said in another half-an-hour we would have been carrying out a body."

Some people living in Waterworks Road have complained to Worcester City Council and also asked for a fence to be put up to stop youngsters invading their gardens.

However, the council's parks green network officer Warwick Neale said, although the council would listen to people's worries, there were no plans to put a fence up.

He said warning signs had been placed nearby six weeks ago and said: "Obviously most people are aware that jumping into the Severn from that area is a dangerous thing to do.

"However, some people can forget that even if it looks calm, the current can be quite strong and that there are hidden obstacles in the water."

Mr Neale said the council had asked the University of Birmingham to undertake a health and safety review of that part of the riverside and would consider its findings.

Police spokesman Richard Bull said: "Our advice to people is don't jump into the river. You are risking your life and the lives of others who might try and rescue you."