FIVE girls were pulled out of the sea off Barge Pier, Shoebury, and taken to hospital.

Thames Coastguard were called to assist the East of England Ambulance Service at about 7.30pm on Thursday after a drunk youth had fallen into the sea and four of her friends went in after her.

Police, the ambulance service, lifeboats and even an RAF search and rescue helicopter Rescue 125 on its way back from an incident in Kent, providing illumination for the rescuers, were scrambled to the scene.

The RNLI All Weather Lifeboat was on exercises at the time and was immediately sent to locate the girls, followed by the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat 2 and hovercraft, though police were first on the scene and, after seeing a group of youths on the pier, two officers went in to rescue the five girls in the water.

The lifeboats then took the five girls and two police officers to a nearby slipway where they were assessed by paramedics and taken to Accident and Emergency at Southend, suffering from minor injuries and the cold.

A spokesman for Thames Coastguard said: "Everyone was safely recovered from the water and taken to hospital."