Man fighting for his life after second Shrewsbury river incident in three days

A man is critically injured after being rescued from the River Severn in the early hours of Monday morning shortly after he is believed to have been in a fight.

Police were called to the river near the English Bridge, pictured here during flooding earlier in the year

He is the second man to be pulled out of the river in three days after Toby Jones fell into the water on Friday evening. The 31-year-old later died in hospital.

Meanwhile rescue teams have also been searching the Severn in Shrewsbury for missing 21-year-old Nathan Fleetwood, who has not been seen for more than a week after failing to return home from a night out.

In the latest incident, police were were called to St Julian's Crescent, near the English Bridge in Shrewsbury, at around 12.55am on Monday after officers received reports of a person in the river.

He was rescued and taken to hospital where his condition was described as critical.

Officers are now trying to piece together the man's movements before he was found. They believe he had been in The Nag’s Head on Wyle Cop on Sunday evening and had been involved in a fight shortly before he left the premises around midnight.

West Mercia Police is asking anyone who was in the pub between 9.50pm on Sunday and 12.15am on Monday, or who was in the area at the time of the incident, to get in touch along with anyone who may have CCTV or dash-cam footage. The incident number is 19i of 4 April, 2022.

Tributes have been left to Toby Jones in Shrewsbury after the 31-year-old died after being pulled out of the river

The man was rescued from the river just over 48 hours after Toby Jones was pulled out of the Severn in Shrewsbury in a separate incident.

Emergency services were called to Victoria Quay near Welsh Bridge on Friday night where they found the 31-year-old. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but later died.

In a tribute his mother Shane Gayme said that he was "my beautiful boy" and he had a "beautiful smile".

"So many loved him," she added. "I know how he loved life and how so many loved him too. We're totally devastated so heartbroken."

Both incidents are separate to the ongoing search for missing 21-year-old Nathan Fleetwood, who has not been seen since the early hours of Sunday, March 27.

Specialist rescue teams have been scouring the river near the Kingsland Bridge, where he is believed to have been seen, and hundreds of volunteers turned out to help try and find the former Shrewsbury Academy student over the weekend.