TRIBUTES have been paid to a Broughton man who famously spent 76 hours trapped at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean - by the man with whom he shared the ordeal.

Roger Chapman, who died peacefully at his home aged 74, made headlines in August 1973 when laying deep-sea telephone cables 150 miles off the coast of Ireland.

He and Roger Mallinson were aboard Pisces III in the employ of Vickers Oceanics in Barrow.

While the pair were waiting to be recovered at the end of the mission, the aft sphere - containing the machinery - flooded when the hatch of Pisces III was pulled off. The extra weight caused the vehicle to sink almost 1,600ft.

The two men spent the next three days trapped at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in a six-foot steel ball, and were eventually rescued with just 20 minutes of oxygen left.

And Mr Mallinson, 81, of Troutbeck Bridge, paid tribute to the man with whom he shared the 76-hour ordeal, describing him as a “lovely man (in spite of him being Royal Navy!).”

“We comforted each other when we were trapped,” he said. We only had a small life support. He looked after me and I looked after him.”

They couldn’t talk because that would have used up their supplies of oxygen. Instead, said Mr Mallinson, they would reach-out and give each-other’s hands a squeeze.

The pair remained friends following their dramatic rescue and would meet up once a year at The Church House Inn at Torver.

Mr Mallinson also recalled working with Mr Chapman and other men on a job in Norway, saying most people headed for the nearest pub when they went ashore.

“Roger wasn’t really interested in drink,” said Mr Mallinson. “Instead of going to the pub, we’d go past the pubs and go for a nice walk and enjoy the area, rather than get plastered.”

Mr Mallinson later expressed concerns over how the Pisces III mission and subsequent inquiry was handled, alleging he had been told the water alarm in the aft sphere had sounded on test dives prior to the August 1973 mission - something he said was mistakenly attributed to condensation.

Mr Chapman’s funeral is at Broughton Church on Friday, February 7 at 2pm. The family has asked for donations rather than flowers.