AN overnight camp fire session nearly ended in tragedy when a man fell down a ten-foot deep ditch.

Firefighters had to stretcher the casualty across a stream and up hills in the pitch dark due to the remoteness of the forest location.

Police and the ambulance service also rushed to the isolated woodland in the early hours of Saturday.

The man, who suffered back, knee and hip injuries, was taken to Salford Royal Hospital.

A spokesman for Horwich Fire Station said: “We had to stretcher him up hills, across streams and up steps as the forest was 300 metres from the nearest road. There was no way an ambulance could have reached it.”

He added: “On arriving at the scene, which was near Green Lane, Horwich, we were told that the man had wandered off in the pitch dark and had fallen.”

It emerged that the three friends, all in their 30s, regularly meet up to have a chat and a drink beside an overnight camp fire.

The alarm was raised at 3.45am by one of the men who phoned the fire service.

Along with a fire crew from Horwich Fire Station, teams from Bolton North Fire Station and Farnworth Fire Station also attended, as did a technical rescue unit from Leigh.

The spokesman said: “By the time we arrived, the casualty had managed to climb out of the ditch and he was assessed by medics and taken to hospital. He was able to stand.”

The spokesman said: “The fire had been properly made and was bricked-in so there was no issue about that. However, I did suggest to the men that next time, for safety’s sake, they should stay closer to the road.”