Swimming upstream against strong currents as hard as I could, with water in my eyes and mouth, I found myself tiring and wishing for dry land.

But this is the reality that crews from Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service face when they are called to a river incident - and, as a result, firefighters take training very seriously.

Bedfordshire's brigade sets the standard when it comes to preparing for water rescues, and on Monday at Cardington Lock I pulled on a dry suit and jumped in to find out just how hard it can be.

It took me at least ten minutes to put on the underskin, pull the dry suit over the top, compress all the air out of the garments so they were skin-tight, buckle up my buoyancy jacket, strap on my helmet and leap into the water.

However, a trained fire crew can arrive at a rescue and be changed and ready in about two minutes.

Bedfordshire was the first service in the country to carry essential water rescue equipment on all appliances, including dry suits, buoyancy aids, life jackets and throw lines.

Neil Mason, watch commander at Bedford Fire Station, said: "Every appliance has two sets of full personal protection equipment.

"What we are teaching here today is water awareness and safety when they get called out to a water related incident."

Having learned how to jump into the fast-flowing waters of the Cardington Canoe Slalom course without shattering any bones in my legs, which was reassuring, I quickly got the hang of floating on my back and swimming against the current.

I had less fun trying to dive to the bottom of the water, which I tried on three occasions without success, and came up each time with a mouthful of water, coughing, spluttering and slightly concerned about diphtheria.

My training crew then kindly informed me that this exercise was to show that it is impossible to swim underwater wearing the buoyancy jackets, and that any river rescue where someone is thought to be trapped underwater requires the help of specialist divers, not just firefighters.

Station commander Chris Hawksby, who helped develop the policy, said: "Our experience has shown that there is enormous pressure on the first crew arriving at a water rescue to act quickly.

"We therefore feel it's essential to carry equipment such as dry suits on all appliances so firefighters at the scene can act immediately - to do this training is essential."

My experience culminated with learning how to safe-swim, something all crews learn just in case they get swept away by strong currents and need to avoid obstacles in the water.

Jumping in at the top of the slalom, the idea was to float on my back downstream, steering around obstacles with my arms before shooting over a mini-waterfall into calmer waters.

Sadly, I forgot to extend my legs and lift my bottom up as I went over the drop, hit the underwater rocks and careered off into a wall.

Still, all in a day's work.

Suffice to say, if you ever need rescuing from a river, call the fire brigade and not a journalist.

For further information about the fire service visit www.bllrf.org.uk