Rescuers walk the canoeists to safety. Photo: Bowland Pennine MRT

Two canoeists were rescued after clinging to a tree branch for 90 minutes when their boat capsized in a Lancashire river.

Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team was called out to the incident on the River Lune near Lancaster, along with fire and rescue crews.

The team said initial reports were they were clinging on in the flowing water and the emergency services were unclear of their exact location.

A team spokesperson said: “The initial reports were serious enough that Lancashire Police, Lancashire Fire & Rescue and the North West Ambulance service were all on scene to help and assist with the rescue.

“A mountain rescue vehicle set out from our base in Garstang and joined team members at the Crook of Lune car park, where along with Lancashire Fire & Rescue a rescue plan was developed and was then quickly put into place.

“Team members and firefighters then rescued both canoeists, with an inflatable sledge used by firefighters to transport the cold and very wet casualties downstream the river to a point where they were handed over to mountain rescuers for assessment, then escorted back to the car park where they were handed over to paramedics for further assessment.

“The canoeists were cold and very wet after a long traumatic incident with various items of protection including blizzard blankets and mountain rescue boots being utilised to stem the heat escaping from them.”

Bowland Pennine MRT said the multi-agency operation lasted more than three hours and involved 13 team volunteers, with its members returning back to base and then their homes after 11pm.

It was the fourth callout for the volunteers of team in three days, with incidents on the M6 motorway, attending a serious traffic collision, an incident helping Keswick MRT in the Styhead Tarn area and the following day a callout to Gisburn Forest to aid a fallen mountain biker on the Swoopy Trail who had a serious dislocated ankle.