'Whitchurch canal was not an area of concern' before catastrophic collapse - canal trust
The Canal & River Trust said the Shropshire embankment at the centre of a catastrophic collapse was recently inspected with no issues noted, but now it has failed repairs could take up to nine months and cost several million pounds.
In the early hours of Monday (December 22) a major breach occurred on the Llangollen Canal near Whitchurch.
One side of the large embankment totally collapsed, sending millions of gallons of water from more than 30 kilometres of canal out into neighbouring fields.
For the boats moored nearby, the result was devastating: two boats were washed into the hole created by the breach and a third was left perching precariously on the edge of it. Seven more boats close to the breach remained out of water the following day.
Shropshire's extensive canal network is around 250 years old and checked regularly by the Canal & River Trust. The trust said the stretch in question has been checked in the last three months, and no issues had been noted.
