AN elderly fisherman clung to the bough of a tree for an hour after plunging into a freez-ing river when the bank on which he was sitting collapsed.

Malvern great-grandfather Harry Burns had gone out fishing with his friend Peter Satchell on Wednesday when the accident happened.

The 89-year-old was sitting on a stool on the bank of the River Lugg at Stoke Prior, near Leominster, when he felt the ground give way.

"I managed to grab the bough of a tree but the water was up to my waist and freezing cold," said Mr Burns, who was awarded the British Empire Medal for his service as a fireman during the Second World War.

"I was very worried but I couldn't manage to get out and had to continue holding on."

Mr Satchell, who is in his 60s, ran to a nearby farm to raise the alarm after failing to pull his friend free.

There, Vivienne Price called the emergency services. In the meantime she rushed to the river, where she managed to loop a rope around Mr Burns, but could not free him.

When Leominster firefighters arrived, Mr Burns had been in the water for an hour. Firefighters John Briggs and Craig Newman managed to climb down a ladder into the water to haul him out.

The pensioner, from Worcester Road, was taken to Hereford General Hospital suffering from hypothermia. He was allowed home that evening.

"When I was there they wrapped me in foil blankets but I can't complain as there were some very nice nurses," said the widower, who worked at the Royal Radar Establishment until his retirement.

"My legs still feel very stiff but I'm fine otherwise and it won't put me off fishing, I'll just mind where I sit!"