By Karen Evans, Nick Griffiths and Pam McClounie

Last updated at 13:43, Saturday, 29 September 2012

Two men had to be rescued after a machine they were working on capsized in water at a nature reserve.

Emergency services and rescue teams at Siddick Pond

One of the men was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of the extreme cold following the alert in which they were left stranded on an overturned reed cutter at Siddick Pond, outside Workington.

The incident sparked an operation involving a range of life-saving services.

An RNLI lifeboat crew from Workington, Maryport inshore rescue boat, the fire service and an ambulance were sent to the scene.

The men were rescued using a small dinghy. The emergency had unfolded just before 1pm yesterday.

The men were working for a company on a machine called a trucksaw, a floating platform with blades on the bottom used for maintaining reed beds.

The Coastguard said it had somehow capsized and they had initially ended up in the water when the trucksaw overturned.

A spokesman added: “But they managed to scramble onto the trucksaw and one of them dialled 999.

“They didn’t seem panicked. They seemed relatively calm.”

He added: “It was quite hard to find the two men because the reeds were quite high and they were in an awkward place that was difficult to get to.”

The man who went for medical care was from Harrington. He was said to have been taken to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven as a precaution.

The other man, from Rugby, was said to be unhurt.

Fire crews were called from both Workington and Maryport.

Siddick Pond is popular with wildfowl and other species. It is near the Dunmail Park shopping centre.

First published at 11:53, Saturday, 29 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk