A TOP chef from East Lancashire today thanked a passer-by whose quick thinking saved his brother from drowning in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Stephen Finch, 39, was pulled from the canal in Clayton-le-Moors after he collapsed while fishing and fell across the bank with his head in the water.

Factory driver Brian Taylor, 35, of Blackburn Road, Accrington, was cycling along the towpath near Whalley Road with his five-year-old son Matthew at midday on Sunday when he saw Mr Finch fall into the water.

Mr Taylor was hailed a hero by paramedics after he pulled Mr Finch to safety and called for an ambulance on his mobile phone.

The rescued man's brother Stewart Finch, head chef at the Sparth House Hotel, said he could not thank Mr Taylor enough.

Mr Finch, 38, of Barnes Square, Clayton-le-Moors, said: "Stephen was lucky as hell really. I cannot thank Mr Taylor enough for what he did.

"If he hadn't used his initiative like he did then my brother might be dead now.

"Stephen and my mother Sheila were up visiting for a fortnight from Colchester. He went fishing on Sunday morning and we both got very worried when he did not come back for lunch. "My mother was crying her eyes out with worry. I went and searched the canal bank in the afternoon, but we did not find out what happened until after dark.

"It was about 6pm when Stephen turned up in a taxi and told us his story.

"I think Stephen had been sitting down for a long time and when he stood up, the circulation to his legs was no good and he fell across the bank with his head in the water. I don't think he really understood what was happening at the time."

Mr Finch, who moved north from Colchester 16 years ago, said his mother and brother had since returned to Essex.

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