Health & safety : Adventurers Ranulph Fiennes and Robin Knox-Johnston not allowed to light primus stove.

BBC health and safety rules were branded "absurd" today after an intrepid explorer and a round-the-world sailor were not trusted to light a camping stove.

While filming an adventure show for the corporation, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston were stopped from firing up the stove unsupervised in case they had an accident, it was claimed.

Sir Ranulph, Sir Robin and war reporter John Simpson, who featured alongside them, were said to have been taken aback by the corporation's strict regulations while filming BBC 2 series Top Dogs.

They were given a "huge" document warning them about hazards such as tripping over while filming in Afghanistan, Cape Horn and the Canadian Arctic, Sir Robin said.

He told the Daily Mail: "Ran and I were told we could not light a Primus stove unless we were supervised. So that's the kind of nonsense you get.

"This young man came in and said he was going to supervise and we told him to clear off. Or words to that effect."

Sir Robin, who was was the first man to sail single-handed and non-stop around the globe, added: "It was just absurd. What do you think we cook on in boats?"