TWO fishermen cheated death when a 140-tonne pleasure cruiser almost ploughed into their boat - because they were fishing at night without lights.

The men were sitting in an unlit alloy boat, no bigger than a dinghy, on the River Severn at Upton- upon- Severn when the

100-ft Conway Castle headed towards them at 8.45pm on Saturday.

The duo only turned on their small headlight when the Conway Castle was about 100 feet away and skipper Eric Sturt had to brake and turn full to stern to avoid a collision.

The cruiser slid alongside the small fishing boat, which did not move. It would have ploughed straight over the vessel if it wasn't for the drastic evasive action.

Mr Sturt said: "We were heading downstream when suddenly a boat's light came on.

"It was not just that it was dark but there's a deep channel that we have to keep in and they were right in the middle of it.

"We had to take drastic evasive action and 140 tonnes of boat does not stop quickly. It would probably have hit them amidships and probably would have drowned them."

The Conway Castle, which had its deck lights on, had 66 passengers, six crew and four band members on board, but no one was injured in the manoeuvre, near Upton marina.

The Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue (MISAR) service, based at the marina, came out to help the fishermen back to safety on shore.

The pair, who did not want to be identified, told their rescuers they were terrified by the close call.

Both MISAR and Mr Sturt have now urged fishermen and boaters to take sensible precautions while out at night - including using lights and knowing that boats should travel on the right-hand side.

"A narrowboat also came close to hitting us by Callow End on the same night because it was going down the wrong side," said Mr Sturt.

Mr Sturt has been skipper of the Conway Castle, which is moored by Upton Bridge, for three years.

Richard Meyers, from MISAR, added: "If something dark is in the river it just won't be seen. One light can be enough to save lives and we want people to use them."