Man drowns in pier jump

Updated 18.50 Sun Jul 08 2007

Keywords: pier, Essex, Clacton

A man has drowned after jumping off a pier with four friends for a prank.

Coastguards said they found two men, both believed to be in their 40s, face-down in the sea after they jumped off the pier in Clacton, Essex, in a drink-fuelled stunt.

Coastguards said they found two men, both believed to be in their 40s, face-down in the sea after they jumped off the pier in Clacton, Essex, in a drink-fuelled prank

The second man was taken to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition in the intensive care unit.

Sources said witnesses had told investigators that the five men had been drinking and leapt in fully-clothed at around 6.30pm, about an hour after high tide.

Police said they were not treating the incident as suspicious but were preparing a report for a coroner.

"The report was of five middle-aged men jumping off Clacton Pier into the sea," said a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

He added: "Two men were reported to be unconscious in the water."