Wide swathe of wild flowers lost

THE desire for visitors to the towpaths and the resulting mowing, has caused objections at a 10 feet swathe of wild flowers having been decimated by the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Contractors employed by Canal & River Trust (CART) have mowed a wide swathe of grass between East Marton and Bank Newton on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal causing one boater to complain to the Trust of cutting down a variety of wild flowers.

Many varieties

Boater Vicky Blick, with an interest in wild flowers, noticed many varieties amongst the grass by the side of the canal, including  wild orchid, cranesbill, daisy, vetch, red clover, bird's foot trefoil and buttercups in addition to many bees and butterflies.

But the contractors came along, and the next time she walked along all had gone, but what so annoyed her was that the towpath was already a yard wide, but a swathe had been cropped at each side of the towpath destroying all the vegetation.

Others shocked

Vicky maintains it did not need cutting, and her husband complained to CART that it did not require cutting as the towpath was already over a yard wide, and that others were shocked at the destruction.

She it attempting to create a petition against such wanton destruction, to make CART aware of the feelings of people against the cutting.