Canoeist In Intensive Care

6 June 2012, 16:39 | Updated: 6 June 2012, 17:21

Ambulance bosses today issued water warnings as a man is in a serious condition after being rescued from a weir in Kempston.

The East of England Ambulance Service was called at 11.47am to reports that a man was in trouble in the water after falling out of a canoe near Mill Lane.

After arriving within less than a minute ambulance medics, along with fire service crews, managed to pull the man out despite difficult steep banks before treating him on scene for the effects of drowning.

The man, believed to be 47, was then taken to Bedford General South Wing for intensive care treatment.

Andy Hampton, Duty Operations Manager at Kempston ambulance station, said: "This was a difficult rescue due to access with the very steep banks but ambulance and fire crews worked very well together for the benefit of the patient. We would like to take this opportunity to warn people of the dangers of turbulent weirs and water. This man was an experienced canoeist and knew this stretch of water but that was still not enough to prevent him getting into trouble."