Bridgewater security crackdown

IT HAS been confirmed, as narrowboatworld foretold earlier this year, that security checks will be made on boaters on the Bridgewater Canal, again because of the Olympics.

All boaters approaching Manchester United football ground by the side of the Bridgewater Canal, during a game, will be stopped and subjected to police searches of their boats.

All boats

We are told that there are fears that terrorists will target the Old Trafford ground when matches for the Olympics are taking place, and so the police will patrol a length of the waterway, and all boats passing thought will be thoroughly searched and crews questioned as part of the security.

Also all boats will be banned from mooring in the vicinity of the ground, with the police creating what it calls an unbreakable ‘ring of steel' around Old Trafford.

Packed with explosives

The police have considered that terrorists might use a boat packed with explosives along the canal before detonating it close to the stadium.

The searches of every boat will take place during each of the seven days of matches, and no mooring will be allowed between the John Gilbert Way Bridge and Throstle Nest Bridge for the entire period from this Thursday 26th July to Tuesday 7th August.

Jet fighters

Even jet fighters will be on stand-by in the event that terrorists mount an air attack during Olympic football matches, including a two miles  no-fly zone around the stadium.

Many people treat this with some scepticism, as a plane shot down over a city like Manchester could cause untold damage and loss of life.