THREE canoeists have been condemned by fire chiefs after a daredevil stunt on the swollen River Irwell nearly ended in tragedy.

As heavy rain and floods swamped several parts of the borough, the three men took to the water in inflatable canoes.

Two of the men, who are visiting from South Africa, scrambled to safety from the fast-flowing river but their friend, a local man, became stranded on a bridge stanchion after his canoe got tangled in debris.

Firefighters were preparing to launch their inshore lifeboat but realised they could reach the stricken canoeist without having to enter the water by smashing a hole through the cellar of the Waterside pub, which stands on the bridge in Kay Street, Summerseat.

Ady Tonge, watch commander at Ramsbottom fire station, orchestrated the rescue operation on Monday afternoon. He said: "I have never seen the River Irwell so wild. It was high and very fast flowing. No one in their right mind would have entered it.

"Sadly, these three men foolishly thought it would be a jolly jape to paddle their canoes in it. They entered the water at Ramsbottom and paddled down stream for about an hour before they got into difficulties at Summerseat. The river was too high and they could not pass under a bridge.

"Two of them fought their way to the riverbank but the third man's canoe was caught in the fast flowing current and he was in danger of being sucked under the water flowing beneath the bridge. Fortunately he managed to get to clamber onto a bridge stanchion and we pulled him to safety a short time later."

Mr Tonge added: "Once all the men were safe I gave them a real rocket for not only putting their lives at risk but also those of their rescuers. They were very embarrassed."

The emergency services were called out by staff at Summerseat-based animation company T3D, who saw the incident unfold from their offices overlooking the Irwell and captured the rescue on camera.

Managing Director Tony Tickle, himself a keen canoeist, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw this guy go past. Guys like this give canoeists a bad name. I've kayaked the Grand Canyon but there's no way I would have attempted the River Irwell in those conditions.

"This guy wasn't even using a canoe; he was using the sort of inflatable kiddies' raft you'd take to the beach on a family holiday.

"If the three of them had reached the bridge just an hour earlier when the river was even higher, they would have been killed without a doubt and the fire brigade wouldn't have been able to get the bodies out from under the bridge until the water level dropped."