POLICE, firefighters and the lifeboat were called to Newport Bridge, Middlesbrough after concern for the safety of a man tonight (Monday, January 14).

The incident occurred between 6.30pm and 7pm.

"We had concern for a male down there, but it has been resolved," a spokesman for Cleveland Police said.

"There were other agencies there, but the incident was not dramatic. There was concern for a male and we had other agencies there as a contingency should they be required, which they weren't."

The spokesman said the man, aged 39, was spoken to at length before being taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was detained under the mental health act.

A spokesman for the Redcar RNLI lifeboat, which attended the scene, said it launched at 6.50pm after a request from Cleveland Police for assistance while they were responding to "a man in a distressed state" on the south river bank at Riverside Park, Middlesbrough.

The lifeboat stood-by at the scene until around 8.15pm when the man voluntarily left the side of the river and was given medical attention.

Dave Cocks from Redcar RNLI said: "It was bitterly cold on the river this evening and if the man had been in the water he would have needed a prompt rescue."