TWO young men rescued a woman from drowning in the canal after spotting her in the water while they were enjoying a night out at a pub.

Marc Waddington, 18, of Ellerbeck Close, Harle Syke, and 20-year-old Kieran McLoughlin, of Reedley Road, Reedley, jumped into the murky water up to their waists and dragged the 36-year-old woman to the towpath.

They spotted her as they were enjoying a drink at the Queen Victoria pub, Queen Victoria Road, Burnley, at 10pm on Friday.

"We were sitting outside on the patio which backs on to the canal," explained Marc. "Someone noticed something in the water just round a bend in the canal. At first we thought it was a swan or something.

"I took a closer look and it looked like a body.

"Everyone else thought I was joking at first. "I drove round to the spot with Kieran and then we spent about 15 minutes trying to persuade the woman to get out of the water but she didn't want to know.

"In the end we jumped in and got her out and then kept her on the bank until the fire brigade arrived. She kept ducking under the water and it was pretty cold.

"I don't think she would have survived much longer."

The fire brigade kept the woman warm with blankets until paramedics arrived and took her to Burnley General Hospital.

The two men are on a summer break from their studies.

Marc, a former pupil at Mansfield High School, Brierfield, is studying A-levels at Gordonstoun, Scotland, while Kieran, a former student at Blackburn College, is preparing to go to university in the autumn.

The woman, who has not been named, had undergone treatment at the hospital earlier the same day.

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