A couple who went to feed ducks sparked a six-hour underwater search after reports a baby had been thrown into the canal - only for a fire crew to find it was bread.
Police were called to the canal in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester after nearby mill workers reported a bag had been thrown into the water, prompting fears it contained a baby.
The workers, from medical equipment company MediProp, called 9
99 after they spotted a man park his car by the edge of the water, get out and throw the carrier bag in.
The specialist search ended when fire crews recovered the bag from the canal bed and found it contained bread, which Sajid Muhammad and his wife had taken to feed the ducks, but accidentally dropped.
Mr Muhammad, 33, of Ashton-under-Lyne, said: "We often do it because it's better than throwing the bread away.
"We got a shock when the police turned up because it was such an awful thing to think about."
The couple had been to the canal, through a park off Stockport Road, at around 4.30pm on Monday.
A police spokesman said: "It was a misunderstanding, but the member of the public who reported it did the right thing."
MediProp's Jonathan Carter said: "We didn't say anything to suggest a baby had been thrown into the canal. One of my staff saw something chucked, and because of the circumstances thought it was suspicious.
"The police were alerted and suddenly there were people everywhere."
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