SECURITY guard Nigel Wright has been hailed as a local hero for the second time after rescuing a drowning man from icy waters in Chippenham.

Credit card fraudster Arshad Khan leapt into the river on Friday afternoon after he was chased from Argos by store manager Shafiq Sadiq and Mr Wright, who had been radioed to assist after Khan became aggressive with staff.

Mr Wright and Mr Sadiq had chased Khan but lost him in St Mary Street.

They were returning to Borough Parade when a member of the public told them a suspicious-looking man had taken his shoes off by the riverside behind the Emery Gate car park.

Mr Wright pleaded with the man to come out of the freezing cold water for his own safety, but he swam halfway across the river before disappearing.

"He went under the water three times," said Mr Wright, who grabbed a branch and waded out to Khan to drag him in with it.

Last time Mr Wright acted heroically was last year, when he was stabbed in the face with a dirty needle after chasing a heroin addict for shoplifting.

Mr Wright had to wait months before he found out if the attacker, who was later jailed for five years, had left him infected with HIV or other diseases.

Once again, in Friday's incident, he said he was merely doing his job.

"The man was suspected of credit card fraud and he was very aggressive and intimidating towards the manager," he said.

"When I got to the store I kept at a distance to make sure everything was alright but when he ran off we both chased him.

"When I saw him getting into the river I thought he must be completely mad or something.

"It was absolutely freezing cold that morning. It was so stupid."

It soon became obvious that Khan wasn't going to make it across the river and Mr Wright realised he had to act quickly, alerting the police and paramedics before wading into the icy depths himself.

"I made sure the police and paramedics were on their way because the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in that cold water with him, waiting," he said.

PC Andy Fortune said the man was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

He was later taken to Bristol's Frenchay Hospital feeling unwell, but was given the all-clear the same night and taken back into custody.

He pleaded guilty to attempted deception, obstructing a police officer and going equipped with a false credit card before magistrates at Chippenham on Monday.

Mr Wright, who was ill himself after the rescue, said the conviction made it all worth while.

"Security guards in Chippenham are having to deal with violent people more and more often," he added.

"It's the drug culture. These people are out stealing to buy their drugs," he said.

Khan, from Birmingham, will be sentenced at Chippenham on January 9.