The crew of a police helicopter have been praised after using the aircraft to "blow to safety" two men who were drowning in a freezing river.

A civilian pilot accompanied by two Northumbria Police observers used the down-draught from the force helicopter to blow the men to the banks on the River Tyne in Newcastle.

The men, aged 19 and 22, had been in the river for about 20 minutes, when the North East Air Support unit arrived find them "severely fatigued" at 0040 GMT on Wednesday.

Sergeant Phil Lee, deputy manager of the air support unit, said the use of down-draught was unusual and risky.

The helcopter dropped to 50ft over the Tyne

Sergeant Lee praised the crew who carried out the 50ft hover above the Tyne, close to the quayside buildings and bridges of Gateshead and Newcastle.

The crew, comprising civilian pilot Captain Jim Polwarth and police observers Pc Andy Bond and Pc Dave Nelthorpe, are resting after the late-night rescue.

Sergeant Lee said: "It is unusual to use the down-draught like this but unfortunately incidents around the river are fairly common.

"On this occasion, because of the urgency of the incident, the crew felt the people in the water were at very great risk.

"The nearest boats were a considerable period of time away and the crew felt some action had to be taken immediately if they were to prevent the potential loss of life."

Sgt Lee said the technique had been used before.

Sergeant Phil Lee: It was a risky procedure

"The rotors smooth out the water and change the flow, and it was used to drift them towards the bank.

"Clearly there is always a risk but you have to make a calculated assessment, taking into account the severe danger."

The force's �2.5m Eurocopter has no winch facility, although it does carry floats which can be dropped.

However, Sergeant Lee said the men in the water already had a lifebelt and the priority was to get them out of the cold.

He said: "This was an excellent piece of work but don't take it away from the police who effected the rescue.

"The aircraft has shown itself time and time again to be a fantastic life-saving piece of equipment."