Man jumps from roof to roof on Brighton pier before leaping into sea for six hours

'New highlight from my trip,' eyewitness says

Emergency services were called to the iconic pier shortly before 7:30 by reports of a man running across the roofs of buildings at the end of the jetty. (Stock image) (PA)

A naked man jumped from roof to roof on Brighton Palace Pier before he leapt into the sea and stayed there for six hours.

As he bobbed in the water underneath the structure, police, fire crews and coastguard crews attempted to get him to safety. But he appeared to rebuff their efforts until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Eyewitness Ben Johnson took pictures as the man ran away from pier security.

“New highlight from my trip to Brighton, naked man jumping from roof to roof away from security at Brighton Pier," he wrote on Twitter, next to the images.

Other footage shared on social media showed crew in a lifeboat next to the base of the pier, where the man hid after jumping into the sea.

Police, fire and coastguard crews attempted to pull him to safety and the man eventually came out of the water in the early hours of the morning.

Sussex Police said the man was taken to hospital for medical checks.

“We were at the scene until after 1am, but had an officer committed to the hospital with him until after 2.30am," a spokerperson said.

The man had not been charged, they added.