A car which ended up in the river in Bath when its elderly driver lost control has been recovered.

The incident on Saturday saw 86-year-old William Leigh's Audi plunge into the river at St Swithin's Yard off Walcot Street.

But as part of a rescue effort by three men, who launched themselves into the water to remove him from the vehicle, the car was pushed towards the bank at the bottom of the neighbouring Chatham Row.

Yesterday workers from Hinton Rescue managed to remove the car.

However, their rescue attempts did not go entirely according to plan after the boat they had borrowed from Emery Construction was not strong enough to take the weight of the Audi, which had become embedded in the river bank.

Assistant manager at Hinton Alan Tonkinson said they had to fill the car with airbags to help it float before borrowing a pleasure boat from Bath Boating Station in order to move the car downstream so their crane could lift it out.

Mr Tonkinson said: "It didn't go as well as we expected it to.

"We underestimated the size of the boat we would need but when it was out it was ok.

"The car is now in our Bath centre."

Mr Leigh had been driving towards his home when his foot slipped on the pedals, taking his car through railings into the river.

The car started filling with water as the rescuers attempted to save him.

He said his gratitude to the lifesavers was "colossal", and that the water had come up to his neck.