Council bosses face complaints from two men who say they were injured riding a waterslide at the district's showpiece swimming pool.

Philip Stanley, 45, had to be rescued by firefighters and paramedics after being injured near a 'break pool' half way down the Zambezee slide at the Richard Dunn sports centre, Odsal.

Mr Stanley, a business development manager, of Riddlesden, was lowered from the slide by stretcher and had to spend a night in Bradford Royal Infirmary with injured neck and shoulder muscles.

Hours earlier Neil Coulson, 36, of Buttershaw, Bradford, said he was also flipped off the rubber ring used to ride the slide and later needed hospital treatment after he clattered against the chute walls.

Today, Bradford Council said people riding down any waterslide were warned there was an element of risk involved, but the Zambezee slide had an excellent safety record.

There was also a host of safety measures in place including CCTV, a traffic light system to distance the riders, trained lifeguards equipped with intercoms, and warning and advice signs on how to properly use the slide.

"Customer safety is our number one priority at all times and every precaution is taken," said a spokesman for the council's recreation service.

"Since it was installed in January 1998 there have been 1.3 million rides recorded and only a very small number of minor incidents have occurred."

Mr Coulson, a father-of-two, who works as a quality insurance tester, was put in a neck brace and given a CT scan at BRI before receiving the all-clear.

He said: "I thought I had broken my back at first because I'd heard this terrible crunch as I came off approaching one of the little water breaks.

"I'm still in a lot of pain and I'll be writing a very strong letter to the centre and also approaching a solicitor because I can't work in this state.

"There should be a sign up on the slide warning people of a certain weight or size not to go on it. That's two grown men it's happened to now, and that's too much of a coincidence."

Mr Stanley also criticised the centre for not having a rescue plan in place to help get him down from the slide's halfway pool.

He said: "I'm amazed that they don't have any emergency procedure for getting people down. I broke my back last year in a horse riding accident so I was terrified I'd done it again.

"It was extremely painful. It took them half-an-hour to decide to call the ambulance and another ten minutes to get the fire brigade."

The council's spokesman added: "We would not advise anyone who has suffered a serious back injury to ride any kind of water slide.

"It is a feature of the ride for users to rest in the whirlpools on the slide and it was not apparent to the lifeguards that Mr Coulson needed help while on the slide.

"We understand that when he reached the bottom of the slide Mr Coulson did not immediately report the accident to the lifeguard on duty there. He requested first aid after getting dressed and was immediately helped by the duty manager who advised him to go for a hospital check-up."

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's executive member for the environment, said she was making inquiries into the incidents.