A HEROIC sea cadet was buoyed into late-night action to rescue a man who jumped into a harbour after a night out. Stevenage Sea Cadet Ryan Sutton, 15, was on lookout duty during a training exercise on the TS Royalist in Weymouth when he says he heard drun

A HEROIC sea cadet was buoyed into late-night action to rescue a man who jumped into a harbour after a night out.

Stevenage Sea Cadet Ryan Sutton, 15, was on lookout duty during a training exercise on the TS Royalist in Weymouth when he says he heard drunken noises at 4am.

Ryan, of Minehead Way, Stevenage, was with another cadet when he saw a couple stumbling towards a set of security gates near the ship.

Ryan said: "They were shouting that they were being followed by the police so I went to have a good look to see what was happening.

"The man climbed over the fence but the woman with him wouldn't climb over. He tried to pull her round the outside of the fence but she let go of his hand and he assumed that she had fallen into the water. He jumped in after her and we went to check how he was.

"My first idea was to jump after him but I thought it was too cold."

While the other cadet was sent to get sailing master Lt Troy McKinley, Ryan kept the man talking.

After Lt McKinley appeared they got a long thick rope and threw it down for the man to grab hold of.

Ryan, a pupil at Thomas Alleyne School, said: "Once he got out we got him something warm to wear until the ambulance came.

"It was quite cold out there and at first he seemed OK in the water but he was there for 20 or 30 minutes and he was getting weaker as it went on.

"It was quite exciting and I had a rush of adrenalin. I never expected this kind of thing to happen."

Ryan, a cadet of five years, said that after the incident he went back to the ship, had a mug of hot chocolate and went to bed. The man was taken to hospital and Ryan has not seen him since.

Lt McKinley said: "Luckily for him, the two cadets on watch saw him fall and heard the splash as he hit the water.

"He was taken to hospital by ambulance - a very lucky man."

Ryan is currently being considered for a formal commendation for his role in the rescue.