By Isle of Wight ObserverA police manhunt at the weekend involving ground units and the National Police Air Service helicopter – resulting in the arrest of one man in Totland and another being plucked from the sea – has ended in no further action being taken against either.
As first reported by the IW Observer, the two men were hunted after Hampshire Constabulary was alerted to a disturbance in Tennyson Road, Freshwater, before dawn on Saturday. When officers arrived at the house there was no sign of the men although one, aged 37, was subsequently arrested in Totland Bay on suspicion of harassment.
The other man, aged 31, sparked a major rescue alert after he went into the sea at Totland Pier. The Needles and Ventnor Coastguards were also called and Freshwater Independent Lifeboat – alerted at 6.06am – was launched while the police helicopter hovered just a few hundred feet above Totland with its strobe light deployed.
The 31-year-old man was found in the water at the derelict pier and spoken to by police at the scene before he was taken to hospital for treatment. He was also arrested on suspicion of using violence to secure entry to a premises.
Now both men have been subsequently released from custody. No further police action is to be taken against them.
