A 73-YEAR-OLD man had to be rescued from the River Severn after getting in to trouble near Worcester.

The pensioner was pulled from the water by customers at The Camp House Inn at Grimley at about 5pm yesterday.

He was taken to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital by ambulance where he was checked over and later discharged.

Lyn Wainwright, of The Camp, which sits on the riverside, said: "A number of our customers pulled the man from the river. We think he may have fallen in further up stream and then floated down to us.

"The pub was very busy so I don't know exactly what happened or who the man was but I think he was OK."

West Midlands Ambulance Service and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service were both in attendance.

Murray MacGregor, spokesman for the ambulance service, said: "We were called by a woman who heard the man's shouts. He was said to be hanging on to trees calling for help.

"When we arrived he was already out of the water and was wet and cold. Paramedics stripped him of his wet clothes and put him in a blanket. He was otherwise uninjured, but was taken to hospital for a check over."

It is not known how the man, believed to be from Worcester, ended up in the river.

Alec Mackie, spokesman for the fire service, said: "We mobilised boats and crews to the scene but when we arrived the man had already been rescued from the water and we were not required."