A MAN who had been drinking heavily was rescued from a third storey roof in Oxford this morning.

Firefighters were called at 4.37am to help police deal with the man, who appeared to be asleep on the roof in the Cowley Road area.

They said the man had been drinking heavily and had no recollection of how he had managed to get onto the roof of the building.

Firefighters used a hydraulic platform to help get him down to safety.

Cowley Road was closed for about 25 minutes while the rescue took place.

A fire service spokesman said: "This incident could have very easily ended in tragedy – thankfully on this occasion, no one was hurt.

"Both the fire service and the police urge people to drink responsibly during the summer period."