GARY Yates proved to be the 'mane' man on Monday.

He braved the River Glaze in Leigh on Monday and helped Leigh firemen pull his girlfriend's horse from the dark river.

Gary was called upon to help after a fruitless 40 minute struggle by local firefighters failed to entice the chestnut 'Deazy' from the river where it had slipped in.

A rope across the river, calling its name, even lumps of sugar failed to persuade the horse from climbing up the slippery slope at the back of the Greyhound Hotel on Warrington Road.

Finally, after a desperate appeal by seven months pregnant Charlotte Kacpersky, Deazy's owner, Gary took a rope from the firemen and waded into the river and slipped a noose over the horse's head before helping to pull it to freedom.

Leigh Station Officer Jim Simms said: "The horse couldn't get up the slippery bank on its own and we couldn't persuade it either. I just hope it has learnt its lesson and doesn't go in the water again. This shows just how varied our work is!"

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