Middlewich Canal Breach March 2018

Overnight on the 15th March 2018 on the Middlewich Branch of The Shropshire Union Canal the paddles were left open at Stanthorne Lock, not sure if it was ever established whether it was an accident or vandalism, though it seems to me that it's unlikely anyone would 'accidentally' leave all 4 paddles open, however that is just my opinion and I may well be wrong. The resulting flow of water overtopped a low section of tow path and washed away the embankment leaving a 12 meter deep hole. It took 3 million pounds and almost a year to be fixed. This slideshow (including a couple of clips) shows the progress from a couple of days after it happened in March, to early April, October and January 2019 when the work was almost completed. Bad as it was it was small in comparison to the recent Bridgewater Canal Breach, my heart goes out to all those affected. There are some excellent drone footage videos of this colossal breach, check out Taylors Aboard a Narrowboat and DJE MEDIA to name but 2 channels.

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Watching from Australia 🇦🇺🤗