THE crew of a York tour boat have earned glowing praise after they rushed to the rescue of a man who ended up in the River Ouse during an evening cruise.

YorkBoat skipper Mark Sanderson, along with crew members Kerry Archer and Katy Cole, acted quickly when the man fell from the upper deck of the boat following an altercation with another member of his group.

The incident happened as the River Palace was making its way up the Ouse, near the Millennium Bridge, while hosting an evening Ghost Cruise. The man, who has not been named but is thought to have been from the Hull area, was leaning over the upper deck railings, where it is believed he was being sick.

Following some kind of altercation with another member of his group, he fell overboard, plunging into the water aft of the boat.

Reports indicate the man vanished from sight for about a minute, while the crew were alerted. Mr Sanderson stopped the boat, and, together with his crew, threw lifebelts to the man, and brought him back on board.

The man suffered a gash to the head, and the emergency services were called, meeting the boat when it made a stop at the former Bonding Warehouse pub. The man was taken by ambulance to York District Hospital, but was subsequently discharged.

Following the incident earlier this month, YorkBoat sent a report to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which responded by commending the actions of the crew.

Robert Stevenson, a marine surveyor with the agency, said: "The YorkBoat team are to be congratulated on their efficient handling of the incident."

The three crewmembers have also earned the praise of senior staff at YorkBoat.

Marketing manager Sarah Porteous said: "Our crews are extensively trained in boat handling and emergency procedures, and we would like to commend them for putting those procedures into practice."

Updated: 08:28 Monday, August 19, 2002