Black Country Divers go for dip in 13 stone antique suit

But this was a very modern group of divers, who took turns for a dip wearing an antique heavy brass helmet and lead-bottomed boots in a chilly quarry lake.

Nine men, including seven members of the Halesowen-based Black Country Divers, were celebrating the 40th birthday of Dan Higgins, as well as the diamond anniversary of the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC).

Air was pumped by hand down a long tube to the clumsy-looking, 80-year-old helmet, while members of the Historical Diving Society kept a close eye on the expedition.

It's a far cry from their normal gear of wet or dry suits with lightweight air tanks on their backs.

The nostaligic dive was the brainchild of Black Country Divers' diving officer Dan, who lives in the Old Quarter district of Stourbridge and is senior charge nurse in intensive care at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

And his party all agreed that the exercise, at the National Diving Centre at Stoney Cove in Leicestershire, went swimmingly.

It was a sunny day, which meant underwater visibility was about five or six metres, and the divers said the 10C (50F) temperature of the lake was 'not too uncomfortable'.

Dan said: "We were wearing a large brass diving helmet dating from 1932, which I believe was once used by Royal Navy divers and could even have been on underwater operations during the Second World War.

"We also had on old-style heavy diving suit made of canvas over rubber.

"Although it wasn't actually old, it is an exact reproduction of kit used 60 to 80 years ago.

"We kept warm by wearing fleece suits underneath it.

"On our feet we had on heavy boots with lead soles which helped keep us down on the bottom.

"The air was pumped down into the helmet through a long pipe from a hand-operated machine on the surface.

A couple of guys were doing that.

"Once we were down there we didn't go very deep, just about six metres to a shelf which goes around the edge, and spent the time mooching about trying to get used to the equipment, which was so different from the lightweight kit that we get to use these days.

"It was really heavy and all the equipment we were wearing weighed about 13 stone altogether, but it was fascinating to see how well it all worked and everything went without a hitch thanks to the group from the Historical Diving Society.

"It was a really fantastic experience and we're all really glad we did it.

"In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that some of us are now thinking of joining the Historical Diving Society so we can wear the equipment again."

The appropriately-named Jonathan Flood, aged 37, a pre-sales consultant, from Halesowen and fellow member of Black Country Divers, said: "It was a brilliant experience.

"Getting into the really old equipment, knowing someone was pumping air down from the surface from a beautiful looking pump made of wood and brass was unique.

"When they were bolting you into your helmet it was disconcerting."