Canal breach investigation expected to take weeks

Investigations to determine the cause of a large breach in the side of a canal are expected to take a number of weeks.

Three narrowboats became trapped when a hole appeared in the Llangollen Canal near Whitchurch in Shropshire on 22 December, causing water to pour out into a nearby field.

One boat has been winched to safety and other sections of the canal have been re-filled, but two remain in the bottom of a deep trench.

The Canal and River Trust said work to recover those two boats was due to begin this week and it was expected to require heavy machinery. On Monday, they said repairs to the canal could take most of 2026.

The trust's chief operating officer, Julie Sharman, said the investigations were complicated because the damage to the canal embankment had been significant and earth structures could be complex.

Asked for a time-scale for the investigation, the trust said it was likely to take weeks rather than months.

It also said the immediate focus would be on recovering the remaining trapped narrowboats.

A tracked winch was brought in from Leicestershire just before Christmas to rescue one which had been hanging over the edge of the breach.

Dams were put in place on either side of the affected area so that other boats could be re-floated.

But the trust said an excavator would be needed to flatten the steep side of the breach hole, to create a gradual slope for the remaining boats to be winched out.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of the Canal and River Trust, said: "This has been a deeply distressing time for these boat owners in particular."

He thanked people who had contributed £100,000 an online fundraising appeal for the owners of the three worst-affected boats.

Robb added: "Thankfully, breaches of this scale are relatively rare, but, when they do occur, they're expensive and complicated to fix."

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