A Limerick man is in a critical condition after being found asleep in a cold bath.
He was rushed to the Mid-West Regional Hospital on Monday around 9.30 p.m. suffering from hypothermia.
A 47-year-old widower, Mr Christy Higgins, was visiting friends at their rented house in Emmett Place off St Joseph's Street. He decided to take a bath and it seems that he fell asleep and spent an hour in the bath.
He was found by one of the occupants of the house, Mr Eddie English (30), who pulled him fully clothed from the water.
Mr Higgins lived for some time at Brother Stephen Russell Home, which accommodates homeless people.
Mr English said that the victim "is an old friend and he said he wanted to have a bath. When he had been an hour in the bathroom, which is downstairs, I went to check him and found him under the water.
"I pulled him out of the bath and into the hallway, pumped his chest and brought up a lot of water. I prayed over him from my prayerbook until the ambulance came," he said.
A spokesperson for Brother Stephen Russell Home in Musgrave Street said Mr Higgins was due to stay with them on the night but did not turn up.