A soldier was hailed a hero today after wading into the River Severn to help rescue a stranded woman.

The 22-year-old soldier sprung into action after spotting the woman in the river in Bridgnorth while on his way home at about 9.20pm yesterday.

He managed to keep her afloat until firefighters got to the river by Washbrook Road.

It is not known how the woman, aged in her 50s and semi-conscious, had come to be in the water. She was later treated in hospital for hypothermia.

The unnamed soldier, who is based at Catterick Barracks in Yorkshire and serves with the Mercian Regiment, was checked over at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.