A British diplomat in China has been hailed as a hero after diving into a river to save a drowning student.

Stephen Ellison, 61, consul-general in Chongqing, was walking by a river in a nearby village when the woman, 24, slipped on rocks into the deep water, the BBC reports.

Footage filmed by onlookers showed her struggle in the fast-moving current, disappear under a footbridge and emerge face down, apparently unconscious.

Ellison took off his shoes and dived in to save her. She has not been named.

The consul general, who takes part in triathlons, turned the student over, lifted her face clear of the water and swam backwards to the steep sided riverbank.

"She was unconscious, she was not breathing and for a short time we feared the worst. But as we got back to the side, she started breathing again," he told the BBC of the rescue, which took place on Saturday morning.

The diplomat held onto a lifebuoy attached to a rope that had been thrown towards him by passers-by, who then pulled the woman to safety. Ellison swam round to shallower rocks and climbed out. He was given dry clothes and warm drinks by grateful villagers.

He said the student, who is from Wuhan and attends Chongqing University, was shaken by the experience and recovering slowly.

But she was extremely grateful and has invited him to dinner with her family next weekend.

Ellison, originally from Newcastle, is head of the British mission in Chongqing - where his role is primarily to support bilateral trade links between Britain and China.

Stephen Ellison, centre, said the woman was shaken by the experience but recovering.

British diplomat Stephen Ellison lauded for saving Chinese student from drowning