The vanishing way of life of the North-East's coble fishermen is recorded in a two-part television documentary made, and inspired, by the father-and-son team behind The Last Horsemen.

Film-maker Charles Bowden owes the inspiration for his latest series about a vanishing way of North-East life to his father, John. He was the one who suggested making a programme about cobles, the small, brightly-coloured wooden boats used by the coast's fishermen.

"They're an emblem of North-East coastal life. My father remembered seeing them bobbing about on the bay as a child," he says. "They're another way of life in rural areas that's vanishing, and I'm interested in this idea of recording them before they disappear for good."

The two-part documentary The Last Fishermen tells the story of cobles, whose origins can be traced back to the Vikings and which are part of the region's maritime heritage.

His previous series for Tyne Tees Television, The Last Horseman, was also inspired by his 91-year-old father. Filmed over three years, that told of a Northumbrian farmer still using real horsepower for ploughing, sowing, haymaking and harvesting.

This project was a little closer to home for farmer's son Bowden, who runs a production company called CBTV, as his background is in farming rather than fishing. But he says he can identify many similarities between the two.

"Both rely equally much on the weather, and have a similar kind of independence. They are both harvesting a crop, only they're different sorts of crops, but the risks they take are quite similar," he says.

A century ago every village and town along the coast between the Tweed and the Humber had a fleet of cobles in harbour or hauled up on the beach. There were several thousand of the boats. Now there are less than 100.

"They have wooden oak frames with large timbers. Many people believe them to be beautiful boats," he says. "They're unique to this coast and have an amazing history, and they're said to have been brought here by the Vikings. People are starting to preserve them in maritime museums."

Perhaps the most famous use of such a boat was when Grace Darling rowed a sailing coble through heavy seas off the Northumbrian coast to rescue survivors from a wrecked steamship in 1838.

Now fleets of cobles are no more. They're rarely seen in coastal villages such as Staithes which, in old photographs, is pictured bustling with such boats.

Bowden spent two years making the series, talking to owners and sailing in cobles. One problem was the size of the 30ft craft made life difficult for a cameraman. "There's quite a lot of deck space, but you have to be very careful. So we chose our moments to go out with them," he explains.

"There was also the problem of the weather. We couldn't go out if it was too bad. We did go out in varying weather, but mostly not too rough as salt water doesn't agree with the camera."

Happily, cameraman Lee Sutterby is an experienced sailor, who has his own boat. Bowden admits to being more comfortable on land than the sea.

"I've learnt a lot about cobles and their way of life. They leave before dawn to get to the fishing grounds before trawlers and the competition. There's a lot of secrecy about where they fish and the methods they use. I had to respect the fact that fishermen are a close community," he says.

"It was difficult because they don't usually make up their mind whether to go to sea until five in the morning. So I'd be sitting in a B-and-B at four, ready to go and jump aboard if the weather was okay."

The fishermen featured in the series include Shaun Elwick, whose coble, Carisma, is one of only a handful that still go "long lining" in the winter months.

When the weather allows, he fishes for codling three miles off his home town of Whitby. His three-man crew cast eight long lines, each with 200 hooks baited with squid. "It's unpredictable. You're coping with the sea and the tides, and pitting your wits against the fish," he says.

Main Stephenson's family at Boulmer, in Northumberland, have been fishermen for many generations. His coble, Northern Pride, built in Amble in 1977, is used in winter to fish with pots for lobsters and crabs. He's seen numbers decline steeply, from nine boats with three men each in Boulmer after the Second World War to just three boats with two men in each today.

Bowden did find that, for the first time in 12 years, a new coble is being built in the North-East. Lennie Oliver, his brother Rob and Steve Cook are building the Bay Joe to a traditional design in a boatyard in Whitby. The film-maker follows their progress in the series.

The 23ft coble will be used to fish off Robin Hood's Bay, where Lennie lives. "It's the first coble to be built for a long time, and it could be the last. It's a bit of living history," he says.

Bowden, who also makes the Wild North series for Tyne Tees, is now considering another "last of" series. This would focus on The Last Shepherds.

"It's another way of rural life that's disappearing - shepherds and their dogs. There are hill farmers and hill shepherds with a wealth of knowledge which will be lost unless someone goes out and records it in an interesting and understanding way," he adds.

* The first part of The Last Fishermen is being shown on Tyne Tees Television tomorrow at 5.45pm, and the second part on April 13 at 5.30pm.

Published: 29/03/2003