MORE than 1,000 fire fighters from around the country are expected in Bury on Monday to pay their respects to Ramsbottom fireman Paul Metcalf.

The 40-year-old will be buried with full fire service honours after a funeral service at Bury Parish Church.

Sub-officer Metcalf lost his life on Sunday afternoon as he tried to find the body of Reyaz Ali, 15, from Simon's Lodge in Holcombe.

After wading into the water the part-time fireman of Whalley Road, Shuttleworth, got into difficulties when a safety line snagged on an under-water obstacle.

Colleagues made desperate efforts to free him, but the fire fighter remained trapped under water for around 15 minutes. He was eventually winched out by the Greater Manchester Police helicopter and air-lifted to Hope Hospital where he died. The body of Reyaz, a student at the Darul Uloom Islamic College, was recovered four hours later by an underwater search team. The teenager, from New Zealand, was was buried on Tuesday following a service in Blackburn.

Sub-officer Metcalf became the first officer to die at the scene of an incident since the formation of the Greater Manchester County Fire Service in 1974.

Now his colleagues are to honour his bravery with a full fire service funeral on Monday morning.

Workmates will converge on Bury Parish Church at 10.30am for the special service. His coffin, draped with the Union flag, will be carried to the church on a vintage fire engine.

Later, the cortege will pass Ramsbottom Fire Station on its way to Edenfield Parish Church where his coffin will be laid to rest.

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