A couple have been rescued after slipping 20 feet down an embankment along the River Avon in Bath.
The pair, a man and a woman believed to be 18 to 20 years old, were rescued by fire crews from Bath using ladders and ropes after the alarm was raised by residents. The emergency services were called just before midnight last night after people had reported the a couple trapped on the embankment behind Walcot Street and in danger of slipping into the river.
A spokesman for Avon Fire and Rescue said: "This couple had been able to get access to this part of the river and had slipped down 20 feet of vertical bank."
The rescue crews found the pair on a small ledge with the man virtually in the river, with only the thickness of undergrowth halting their slide.
The alarm was raised by people living on the opposite side of the Avon.
The spokesman added: "Our crews rescued them by using ladders laid down the river bank and crews with safety equipment for vertical rescue." As well as fire crews from Bath, a safety river boat was also launched from Bathampton, but was not used, while police, the South Western Ambulance Service and the service's Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) also attended the scene. Spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service, John Oliver, said the couple were treated for mild hypothermia and the man had injured his ankle but it was not broken. They were taken to the Royal United Hospital by ambulance as a precaution.
The pair, a man and a woman believed to be 18 to 20 years old, were rescued by fire crews from Bath using ladders and ropes after the alarm was raised by residents. The emergency services were called just before midnight last night after people had reported the a couple trapped on the embankment behind Walcot Street and in danger of slipping into the river.
A spokesman for Avon Fire and Rescue said: "This couple had been able to get access to this part of the river and had slipped down 20 feet of vertical bank."
The rescue crews found the pair on a small ledge with the man virtually in the river, with only the thickness of undergrowth halting their slide.
The alarm was raised by people living on the opposite side of the Avon.
The spokesman added: "Our crews rescued them by using ladders laid down the river bank and crews with safety equipment for vertical rescue." As well as fire crews from Bath, a safety river boat was also launched from Bathampton, but was not used, while police, the South Western Ambulance Service and the service's Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) also attended the scene. Spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service, John Oliver, said the couple were treated for mild hypothermia and the man had injured his ankle but it was not broken. They were taken to the Royal United Hospital by ambulance as a precaution.
