FIREFIGHTERS pulled a car and its four embarrassed occupants out of the River Wear at the notorious Stanhope Ford this afternoon.

A couple and two teenage girls from the Consett area were trapped in the middle of the River Wear when their engine stalled in foot-deep water just before four o'clock.

Fire service district manager Steve Owers said firefighters from Stanhope drove onto the ford in a Land Rover and attached a winch to the stranded car using special techniques developed after several dramatic rescues at the ford.

He said: "The occupants were not in any great danger but their feet were wet. They were very embarrassed.

"The water was close to the top of the stepping stones. The woman said they had watched another car go through and thought it was safe.

"She said they had seen cars get stuck before and thought 'What on earth were they doing?' but now they were in that situation.

"The problem is there is a dip in the centre of the ford and that is where the engines stall."

Since 2000 emergency services, including helicopters from RAF Boulmer, have been called to the ford nearly 30 times and Durham County Council is considering closing it during the winter months.

Mr Owers said: "Even with winter closure we would still have had this incident and we will still get them unless we can convince the public that it is dangerous to cross when there is any extra water in the river."

On Sunday classic cars in the Beamish Run altered their course to avoid the ford for the first time in 37 years.