TWO fisherman who helped rescue a couple from icy waters have revealed how lucky they were to be at the scene.

Joe Brown and Steven Mills dragged the couple, who it’s believed had been drinking, out of the sea at Newhaven harbour early on Sunday morning. The two men were fishing at the time and jumped into action.

“We heard a splash following by screaming and shouting,” said Joe, 27. “I ran over and saw the pair in the water.

“I managed to throw them a life ring and tied it to our car to try and pull them out.”

Police and paramedics arrived at the scene and the couple were pulled to safety.

Although they responded quickly, the victims were still in the water for more than 15 minutes which could have been a fatal amount of time.

Joe added: “The last time we fished there was July so it was really lucky we were there and stayed there so long.”

After the drama, the coastguard in Newhaven warned the public of the dangers of drinking and going into the water.

It described the couple as “lucky to be alive”.