FIREFIGHTERS have come to the rescue of a fledgling riverboat venture, after disaster struck.

A rowing boat and pedalo rental company, which only began trading on Otley’s River Wharfe last month, suffered an early blow a week ago when a fallen tree carried by a fast-flowing river lifted the anchors and carried all the boats and pedalos away.

While the business, Otley Boats, managed to retrieve five of the boats over the following days, it had become too dangerous to attempt to capture the others, which by now had been spotted many miles away at Arthington and Harewood.

So firefighters from Bingley Fire Station, who are trained in water rescues, decided to come to its aid.

They donned dry suits and floatation devices, set up a line system and spent hours swimming in the river, retrieving the vessels.

Green watch commander Andy Gray said business owner Chris Thornton had been very grateful for their help.

He said: “He was over the moon, because he couldn’t have got them back himself. We had advised it wasn’t safe for the general public to go in the water.

“We know how much the boats mean to Otley and we didn’t want to see a small business, open for a month and a half, to be taken out so cruelly.

“It was enjoyable as well, going out there, and it’s important for our training. We had to deal with different conditions and different obstacles, so it’s good training for live rescues when we have to do things in a hurry.”

Mr Thornton said the firefighters had saved his business.

He said: “I can’t thank the fire service enough for what they’ve done. They have been brilliant.”

He said he would now need to repair many of the vessels, so would probably not reopen the business until next spring.

And six pedalos remain missing, with one spotted as far away as Wetherby.

Mr Thornton, who runs a jewellery business in the area, thanked the whole town for their supportive messages and offers of help in getting the boats back.

He had launched the business in August, bringing river rowing boats back to the town after a gap of 16 years.