A MAN and his dog had to be rescued from the freezing River Avon after ‘getting into difficulty.’

The man, who was in his 60s, was pulled from the river by the Swiftwater Rescue Team and taken to hospital by ambulance.

Fire, police and ambulance crews were called to help the dog walker and his pet by Evesham Sports Club

The incident took place shortly after midday on Tuesday, January 5 near Blind Lane.

Fire and ambulance crews were sent to the scene including the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said: “Three Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews – including water rescue vehicles from Worcester and Evesham and the water first responder from Pershore – as well as the service drone, were called to Blind Lane in Evesham at 12:13 on 5 January to reports of a man in the River Avon.

“The swift-water rescue team used a sled to rescue a male casualty in his 60s who was then treated by paramedics who attended, along with West Mercia Police.

West Midlands Ambulance Service sent an air ambulance, the HART [hazardous area response team), an ambulance and a paramedic officer to the incident.

A spokeswoman for the service said: “We were called by the fire service at 12:15pm to a patient in the water at Blind Lane in Evesham.

“When crews arrived they were presented with a man who’d been pulled from the water after getting into difficulty.

“He was treated at the scene by crews before being conveyed to The Alexandra Hospital in Redditch for further treatment.”

Hereford and Worcester’s fire control confirmed the dog ‘self-rescued before our arrival.’

The incident comes a week after a woman, also in her 60s, was saved the River Severn in Bewdley, with Chief Inspector Ed Hancox from West Mercia Police, praising police and fire crews for ‘ genuinely heroic work which saved a life’.