A PILOT whose helicopter ditched into Windermere's icy waters narrowly escaped death by forcing open a door of the sinking chopper and swimming half-a-mile to safety.

Reliving his ordeal, Bill Scarrett, 61, told the Gazette that he knew, from his military training, to wait as the weight of the rotor blades tipped the Jet Ranger 206 on its head during its descent to the dark depths of the lake.

With dangerously cold water filling up around him Mr Scarrett, a highly-trained military pilot with 33-years flying experience, sat tight until it had reached chin-level before trying to open his door.

It was jammed shut, probably from the impact of the helicopter hitting the water half-a-mile off the lake's eastern shore near Storrs Hall Hotel.

Kicking at the door on the other side, Mr Scarrett escaped the 'copter, which continued to sink to the lake bed, 27-metres under.

The crash last Friday occurred just before 8am when the lake was still dark, and covered in a light mist.

As Mr Scarrett swam, fully-clothed, to the surface and focused on lights from a lakeside property to guide him to shore, police received a number of phone calls about the incident.

Mike Smith, spokesman for Cumbria Police, said several members of the public had reported hearing a loud noise and seeing lights, from what they thought was a helicopter, disappearing into the lake.

Officers were immediately despatched to the site, but had to establish whether a craft had crashed, and if so, where.

Mr Scarrett had been flying to pick up Windermere businessman Tim Knowles from his lakeside home, when the Jet Ranger 206 got into difficulty.

Jackie Garside, whose Storrs Park home overlooks the site of the crash, was woken by the noise as the helicopter hit the water.

"It was a hell of a bang, like a lorry going into a wall," she said.

"But there wasn't a splash of water.

I thought the sound was coming from building work across the road."

Mr Knowles, who had been intending to fly to Chorley-based Botany Bay, of which he is managing director, learned from a neighbour that the helicopter had gone down.

As soon as he heard, he contacted the police to say that Mr Scarrett had been aboard.

However, shortly afterwards, Mr Scarrett had swum the half-mile to shore - 45-minutes after he crashed.

Mr Scarrett was taken to Furness General Hospital, suffering shock and hypothermia, and kept in overnight.

He was released last Saturday, and later spoke to the Gazette from his Blackpool home.

He explained it had been dark as he came in to land, and visibility had not been good.

"I was distracted by something, and unfortunately struck with the lake," he said.

"There was nothing wrong with the machine - it was an error of judgement."

Mr Scarrett, who served in the Parachute Regiment and then the Army Air Corps, explained that when water was very still and engulfed in darkness it had the effect of "black glass" - known as the Mill Pond Phenomenon - which had distorted his perception of the water.

"I have flown for 33 years and had numerous accidents, usually involving mechanical problems, but that was the first one which involved water," admitted Mr Scarrett.

"The first problem was sitting there, waiting.

I couldn't get out initially because my door was stuck, so I had to kick open the other door," he continued.

"The next problem was swimming to shore.

I am quite a strong swimmer and regularly train, so that helped."

Mr Scarrett said he focused on lights from a house south of Storrs Hall Hotel as he swam, adding: "In such cold you have about an hour before you lose all feeling.

I got to shore in about 45 minutes and couldn't pull myself onto the jetty.

I really struggled to get out."

Denying any feelings of fear, he stressed: "You train to survive, to accept where you are and then work out what you have to do.

Some people panic and that's what kills them."

The five-seater Jet Ranger 206, which is owned by Chorley-based Helixair Ltd., was salvaged from the lake bed on Tuesday.