Emergency crews were called out this afternoon after the bridge failed plunging the victims into the River Seven in High Askew, near Cropton village.

The BBC said the bridge involved was a small aluminium construction box frame structure which was about 5 metres long.

A 65-year-old was flown to hospital in Middlesbrough with head injuries and a suspected broken arm and a 50-year-old was driven to hospital with hypothermia and head injuries.

The men on the bridge were members of a shooting party and were crossing it on private land when it collapsed.

A Great North Air Ambulance spokesman said: “The metal footbridge had totally collapsed into the river.

“By the time we got there, both men had been retrieved from the water.”