THREE young men had to abandon ship last night when the narrowboat they were on started to sink.

The men in their twenties were treated by paramedics after swimming to safety from the boat in the Kennet and Avon Canal at Padworth.

The fire brigade was called at 9pm but the boat had sunk completely before they arrived and so they do not know what caused the leak.

Crew manager John Rumble from Dee Road station in Tilehurst said: "We called the Environment Agency in case there was any fuel leak from it.

"They have the task of removing the boat now because obviously it is a very busy waterway."