A FISHERMAN had to be hauled to safety by a man on a walk with his sons, after he was swept away by rising flood waters.

He had been fishing at Brompton- on-Swale, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, when he lost his footing and was carried away by the swollen River Swale.

Luckily for the man, Peter Franklin was walking with his sons, Charlie, seven, and Robert, 12, when the incident happened, at about 3pm on Thursday, at a place known locally as Brompton corner.

Mr Franklin, a 42-year-old spray-painter from Scorton, near Richmond, said it took a family effort to rescue him.

While Mr Franklin waded through the water to reach the struggling man, his sons called the emergency services.

He said: "I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. My kids were on the bank screaming and the fisherman's wife was beside herself. I just went for it.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, he would have drowned. The river was in flood. He was out of his depth.

"It was either I go in or he would have died. He had gone all grey. He was saying he couldn't feel his arms and he was starting to go unconscious."

It was Mr Franklin's knowledge of the river that saved the day. "I knew if I let the river bring him downstream, the current would bring him closer to the bank," he said.

"So I waded in waist-high - it was absolutely freezing. He came within a couple of feet and after taking another stride towards him, I managed to grab him. It was very difficult with the weight of him with all his fishing gear on, and the flow of the water."

Mr Franklin then hauled the fisherman onto the bank, where the sodden pair lay for a while as they recovered from the effects of the icy waters.

The fisherman soon recovered, insisted on cancelling the ambulance and thanking Mr Franklin and his sons before leaving.

The man did not wish to be named, but he is believed to be from the Colburn area.