A DRUNKEN fisherman had a lucky escape after he fell off the quay in darkness at Newlyn.
Members of Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team were called to the port shortly before 8pm on Sunday following a report that a man had fallen on to the gunwhales of a fishing boat and into the water.
The man, who fishes from Brixham, was spotted tumbling off the Mary Williams Pier by a member of the Penlee RNLI crew.
Helped by the lifeboat's inshore crew, he was pulled from the water onto the deck of the Billy Rowney.
He was given pain relief, as he was suffering chest injuries as well as being cold and wet, and placed on the Coastguard Rescue Team's rigid stretcher. With the help of the lifeboat crew, the man was hauled up on to the quay and taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by a waiting ambulance at 8.30pm.
He was later discovered to have five broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Tim Stevens, the rescue team's station manager, said: "The man had clearly been drinking and was quite vocal so the police were also called."
The police said the man was confused after the fall so they assisted the ambulance crew in calming him down.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN