A SCHOOLGIRL thought she was going to sink to her death after tumbling 30 feet into a muddy, disused canal.

The accident sparked a major rescue operation involving police, fire crews, paramedics and mountain rescue teams who were scrambled to the scene at Hill Top Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, at 7pm on Sunday.

Lucy Parker, 13, of Watkin Road, Whittle-le-Woods, was walking along a footpath close to the drop with her 10-year-old friend Coral Latham.

Lucy dropped her purse into the disused canal which is beside Whittle Hill Quarries.

Holding on to each other's hands they tried to edge down the steep slope before slipping and falling 30 foot into the mud.

"I thought I was going to die," said Lucy who attends Brownedge St Mary's High School, Bamber Bridge.

"The mud was up to my thighs and I couldn't move. I didn't know how deep it was. I was scared of dying. I was shouting 'help me, I am sinking'.

"We were trying to grab hold of branches to get ourselves out but because they were so old they kept on snapping. It was really frightening." Coral, who was less hurt than Lucy, managed to scramble out and used a mobile phone to alert the emergency services.

Teams from the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team, supported by rope teams from Lancashire Fire and Rescue, spent 45 minutes getting help to the youngster.

Now both sets of parents have banned their children from the area surrounding the quarry.

Coral's mother, Kim Latham, 35, of Hillside Crescent, said: "She has been told not to go up there without us." The stretch of disused canal is owned by Peter Higham, of Hill Top Lane. He has tried to prevent children from playing on his land before. He said: "They shouldn't be there because it is fenced. I warn them to stay away because it is dangerous."

Whittle-le-Woods councillor Eric Bell said: "The kids were playing in a spot where they shouldn't have been. It is a problem we have in Whittle."

Sgt Eddie Newton, of Lancashire Police, said: "This was private land and we would urge parents to remind their children about making sure they do not wonder off or play in areas which are not safe."

Lucy is now recovering at home with a sprained ankle.