A British Army parachutist who was saved in a mid-air rescue when his chute did not open properly on a display jump says he owes his team mate a pint of beer.
Fast-thinking Corporal Wayne Shorthouse, 32, claimed that he was no hero after grabbing Corporal Mike French, 34, amid the tangled canopy and bringing the pair down to land safely in water.
Thousands of worried spectators watched as danger loomed for the soldiers, who are part of the British Army's Red Devils freefall parachute display squad, when an intricate formation at the Whitehaven Air Show in Cumbria went wrong.
French, of Cumbria, said he owes his colleague "a pint of beer maybe" for helping him out because "my parachute wasn't too clever".
Shorthouse, of Plymouth, said he was just doing his job.
Thousands of anxious onlookers saw the stricken parachutist "violently kicking" and tangled up in his parachute above Queens Dock. The Army confirmed that this was the first time a parachute has failed in 25 years.
French said: "It is all part of being in the skydiving world.
"It is a very dangerous sport. Display parachuting, and especially canopy formations within display parachuting, is a very very difficult aspect of skydiving. Constantly training is one of the things that kept us (safe) and the communication."
He said they were talking to each other and directing the steering on the way down which ended with "a nice splash" as they hit the water at Queens Dock.
French added: "Next time, you will see a big formation in the sky and it will be landing in the arena."
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