Why was the breach left to the emergency services?

WHEN the culvert collapsed at Melling on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal it was the emergency services that attempted to stay the flow from the breach.

The fire people installed around 700 sand bags at the scene in an attempt to stem the flow of water from the canal, yet no emergency work was undertaken by Canal & River Trust to lessen the flow, though water could have been saved as the breach was quite small, but with no effort from the trust of quickly installing such as stop planks, water was allowed to drain away.

Dams next week

The collapse occurred on Tuesday 12th June, over a week ago, yet we are told that it will not be until next week that dams will eventually be installed as it needs trackway to get machinery across fields. Those days using manpower it seems have long gone.

There will be miles of canal to fill to allow boats to refloat, but those on the Liverpool side will still of course be trapped. (Photograph of the drained canal near Melling by Les Nolan.)

Six weeks from when?

The breach is not as severe as the one on the Middlewich Branch, but 'six weeks to repair' has been suggested, but six weeks from when?  When it collapsed or when work eventually starts?  Then of course with over 20 miles to fill and water having to be pumped from a river, just how long will it all take before those trapped boats can eventually escape?