Ambulance worker John Jenkins last night told how he pulled a woman from the fast-flowing River Cherwell after her canoe capsized.

Mr Jenkins, 61, was out strolling with his wife Sue, 54, in Mesopotamia Walk in the University Parks, on Saturday afternoon, when another passer-by alerted them that the woman was in the water.

Mr Jenkins, from Blenheim Road in Kidlington, got down on his stomach and crawled through bushes to reach the riverbank. As his wife held on to his ankles he managed to grab hold of the woman and stop her from being swept away.

"I got down on my hands and knees and I could see the girl near the riverbank - the water was right up to her chin," Mr Jenkins told the Oxford Mail.

"I managed to grab hold of the woman and pull her into the side while my wife held my ankles.

"My wife was screaming for help and we were there for what seemed like ages, although it was probably only five or 10 minutes.

"At one point, the woman was struggling to breathe because a branch was caught round her neck, but I managed to remove it."

Mr Jenkins added that the woman's boyfriend, who had been in the two-seater canoe with her when it capsized, managed to get up on to the bank to help him pull her out.

"We got her up on to the bank but she kept slipping back into the water, which was about 6ft deep near the bank," he said.

"The woman who had told us there was someone in the river had dialled 999 by that point and shortly afterwards the police arrived."

Mr Jenkins, who drives pensioners to medical appointments, added that it was only with the help of one of three police officers that they were able to pull the woman from the water.

He said: "The current was quite strong and she kept slipping back - it was all getting quite desperate but the girl still managed to stay reasonably calm."

The Danish woman and her boyfriend, both in their 30s, were wrapped in blankets and treated by paramedics before being taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital as a precaution, following the incident at 2.40pm. They were released shortly afterwards.

Pc Lisa Heaton, 36, Pc Richard Saywell, 27, and Pc Chris Miles, 21, based at Cowley police station, all ran from South Parks Road along the river path to reach Mr and Mrs Jenkins.

Pc Heaton said: "The woman was very lucky that Mr Jenkins came along when he did.

"There was an exceptionally strong current following a torrential downpour, and if Mr and Mrs Jenkins had not been there, she could quite easily have been swept away."

Pc Miles added: "It was really lucky that it was at the weekend because that meant there were quite a few people out for a walk. Otherwise it could have been a different story."

Mr Jenkins, a former engineer at Rover Cowley, refused to accept that he had behaved heroically, adding: "It was a team effort to get the girl out - let's just say I was in the right place at the right time.

"Earlier today the couple came round to thank us for what we did, and they have also thanked the police, but they don't want any publicity."