Leeds and Liverpool Canal drained in Burnley: video

A team of fisheries experts will brave the cold water to remove species such as roach, perch, eels, chub and bream.

Millions of litres of water was also drained from the canal enabling the Trust to repair a section of the canal bed at Finsley Gate, between Manchester Road bridge 130b and Sandholme Aqueduct.

The project is costing around £1.2m. and will involve the re-lining of a 140-metre section of the canal bed which will protect the 200-year old canal from leaking.

Other improvements to the wash wall and towpath will also be done at the same time. The work is expected to be completed by March.

Linda Milton, project manager at the Canal and River Trust, said: “This work is really important as we will be repairing the canal bed and at the same stabilising the embankment. To enable us to do this we will need to transfer millions of litres of water from the canal, moving hundreds of fish to another section of the canal.

“The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is unique, built as the longest single waterway in Britain.

“In Burnley, it provided a link to Liverpool that was to transform Burnley’s fortunes and by the turn of the 20th century Burnley had become a global leader in cotton production with over 100,000 looms at work.”