A police officer and special constable in Clacton have been hailed for their efforts in saving the life of a woman attempting to self harm.

Special constable Peter Richards and police constable Will Bowen were on patrol in Walton when they were issued with a call from the Essex Police control room reporting that a woman in the sea in Frinton was attempting to harm herself.

The pair rushed to the scene, and were given the registration of the woman’s car as they were driving along the seafront.

They quickly found her car but there was no-one in it.

The pair separated and called for the woman in a bid to comb the two-mile stretch of coast as efficiently as possible, resulting in PC Bowen spotting her shortly afterwards.

She was in the water while the tide was out, and PC Bowen managed to convince her to step out of the water.

Special constable Richards returned and the pair helped the woman keep warm while reassuring her they were there to help her.

They then continued to reassure the woman in their patrol car, before a paramedic arrived to check she was uninjured.

She was then sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and is being treated.

The incident came just two weeks after special constable Richards joined the force, and made his first arrest the next evening on Friday last week.