A man who was 'under the influence' called the police claiming his friend was in the Bridgewater Canal - but no-one was found.
Police officers and fire crews were scrambled to the scene near Butts Bridge in Leigh yesterday afternoon (Monday). They found a man in the canal.
He told police that his friend was in the water and that he was looking for him, the force said. Crews then 'quickly' established that his friend had never been in the canal.
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The man was then rescued and take to hospital from the scene. In a statement, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: "At around 12:30pm yesterday (1 August 2022) we attended an incident at Butts Bridge, Warrington Road where a man was in the canal.
"He was under the influence and claiming that his friend was also in the canal and that he was looking for him. Fire were called to the scene but it was quickly established that the male’s friend had never been in the canal and was located elsewhere.
"The man was then taken to hospital."
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