The lawyer, who has shunned publicity for her bravery, was yesterday believed to be away from her desk at a top Leeds law practice on sick leave following her ordeal in the city centre early on Saturday.

She is understood to have been walking with a friend when she spotted the other woman plunge fully clothed from a bridge on Neville Street into the fast flowing river at 12.40am.

The two dashed to the river bank and immediately phoned the emergency services. When the solicitior saw the head of the woman go under, she leapt the eight feet down into the river in a brave bid to save her life.

The woman was already thought to be lapsing into unconsciousness when the solicitor reached her. She held the woman's head up and swam to the bank where she waited until the fire service, police and ambulance crews arrived at the rear of the Asda Headquarters in Great Wilson Street.

Three crews from the nearby Hunslet fire station were joined by water rescue teams from the Kirkstall, Leeds, and Rothwell stations.

A rescue ladder, hook and rope were used to pull the women out of the river and onto the banking.

Initially the woman who carried out the rescue appeared to be alright, but she then began to suffer from shock and both she and the person she had helped save were treated by paramedics.

They were taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital for treatment. Both are believed to come from Leeds.

A spokesman for Hunslet fire station said the rescuer had acted very courageously.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police later confirmed that the woman who had dropped from the bridge had been detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act.

Meanwhile, a man was rescued by firefighters after he plunged 20ft from a bridge into the River Aire in Leeds.

The man, believed to be in his late 20s, fell from Victoria Bridge in the Water Lane area of Holbeck at about 10.30pm on Monday. Rescue efforts took 20 minutes.

The man was reportedly suffering from hypothermia. He received treatment from paramedics at the scene.

Read our hour of live webchat with the Boot Room's Andrew Hutchinson to find out what fans thought about Leeds United's thrashing of Crystal Palace and their forthcoming fixtures against Bristol Rovers and Bradford City.

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