Canoeists rescued from river Wye (From Hereford Times)

Canoeists rescued from river Wye

9:21am Monday 25th June 2012 in Ross-on-Wye

A group of canoeists had a lucky escape after getting into difficulty in the River Wye.

Nineteen men, believed to be from the Newport area, got into difficulty and become separated from their canoes and stuck in the fast flowing water at about 6pm on Saturday.

When paradmedics arrived some of the men had managed to reach the side of the river, but a number were still in the water.

By 7.20pm they had all been found.

One man was treated for an existing medical condition and taken to County Hospital in Hereford as a precaution.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "Considering the number of people that ended up in the very fast flowing river with high water levels separated from their canoes, it is extremely fortunate that all the members of the party were found safe and only suffering from the effects of being in cold water.

"An extremely lucky escape for the nineteen people involved."

The men, aged from the early teens to mid-40s, were recovered from a two-mile stretch of water between Bishopswood near Ross on Wye, to Lydbrook in Gloucestershire.