Man rescued by firefighters after getting stuck in Glory Hole says ‘it was a lot narrower than I thought’
A MAN who got stuck in Lincoln’s famous Glory Hole says it was “a lot narrower than I thought”.
Ray Fisher, 70, was guiding his canal boat through the historic water passage when it got wedged on Tuesday.
But his attempt to free the vessel by himself ended in disaster – triggering a massive rescue operation.
Recalling the city centre chaos, Ray said: “I thought I could make it through but I didn’t have enough power.
“Like an idiot, I stepped off the boat and onto the ledge to try and shove the boat out.
“The current caught it and pulled the boat away and I only had one rope on the back.”
Ray found himself stuck up a ledge on one side of the River Witham and the boat wedged on the other.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called and scrambled two swiftwater rescue teams to pluck the pensioner from his perch.
“It caused utter chaos with the fire brigade”, he recalled.
After some pushing and shoving, the rescue team managed to slide Ray’s lengthy vessel out the 863-year-old hole.
Both Ray and the boat emerged unscathed.
Reflecting on the saga, the relieved boater said: “There’s no damage, only to my pride.
“I feel great now, the firefighters did a marvellous job, they’ve been absolutely brilliant – without them I’d have been stuck.”
The Glory Hole sits under High Bridge, the oldest in the UK which still has buildings on it.
Tom Humphries, crew manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “He suffered an engine failure and is quite heavily laden, so was unable to get under the bridge.
“The river is particularly fast-flowing today [Tuesday] and when the waterway narrows the flow increases.”
It is not the first time Ray has needed rescuing from Britain’s waterways.
Five years ago he was saved after getting stuck on the River Trent while trying to rescue another boat.