A TEAM of Northwich firefighters were being hailed heroes after saving a man from drowning in the River Dane.

They were called on Thursday morning when the 29-year-old fell into the river while trying to evade police who wanted to question him about a burglary.

When rescuers arrived they found him clinging onto a tree in the middle of the fast flowing water near Leftwich.

Northwich fire crew manager Ronnie Moore, who was in charge of the rescue, said the man was in danger of being swept away to his death in torrents raging at 35mph.

'The river was particularly deep and in flood and he was out there literally hanging on by his finger tips,' he said. 'He had been in the water for approximately 10 minutes and could not move his limbs.

'He was completely submerged under the water except for his face and his hands. Several times his face went under as well - there literally wasn't a second to waste.

'We managed to get him to hold onto a rescue line and then hauled him to safety. Once we got him out of the water four of us carried him up the embankment and into a field where we removed his clothing and used our own tunics to cover him up and try and get some warmth into him.'

The man was then taken to Leighton Hospital by ambulance under a police escort.

Insp Pete Minghella said he had been trying to evade the police when he threw himself in the river. 'He not only put himself in a terrific amount of danger but other people as well,' he said. 'The fire service did a fantastic job.' 

* A local man was due to appear before Vale Royal Magistrates Court yesterday to face a charge of burglary.