Llangollen canal bank breached in Shropshire after culvert collapse

What happened

A canal bank has been breached, flooding two homes, after a pipe carrying water underneath it collapsed.

The Canal and River Trust (CRT) said it was responding to an incident on the Llangollen Canal at Hampton Bank in Shropshire following the collapse of the pipe, known as a culvert.

Response and investigation

A CRT spokesperson said its team along with infrastructure partner, Kier, were on site and had closed the affected section of canal. The trust added it was carrying out emergency works to slow the flow of water into a neighbouring field.

The spokesperson said: "We know this will be a distressing time for those affected. Our teams remain on site and in direct contact with the residents, providing support and assistance while we work as quickly as possible to bring the situation under control."

The spokesperson added: "Investigations are underway to establish the possible cause of the collapse, and we will provide further details in due course."

Local reaction

Stephen Court, who runs YouTube channel Court Above the Cut and is an ambassador for the CRT, said the culvert had been blocked and teams had been jetting it in order to clear it.

He said: "They pulled the camera out and the leak started."

Court said teams managed to plug the leak on Thursday, but in the evening "things slowly got worse". He said: "At about five o'clock, the bank started to sink slightly, and by 11 o'clock it collapsed and there was a breach into the fields."

He added: "The canal was built 220 years ago, and the problem is the material is very sandy and soily, as soon as water touches it, it washes out."

Court said: "I think years of underfunding has pushed the CRT, and they're struggling to maintain what they've got, and of course that means preventative maintenance doesn't get done as much as they want to."

He added: "These things are going to keep happening if funding doesn't increase."

Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Marston said the CRT was supporting the people affected in nearby houses, along with Shropshire Council.

She said: "We're on site along with the CRT and liaising directly with those households to offer all the assistance they need."

She added: "They have made the canal safe at the moment and there's no immediate risk."

Previous incidents

The breach comes after a major collapse on the canal in Whitchurch nearly 11 months ago, which saw millions of litres of water cascading onto nearby land and left boats swallowed up in a deep trench.

In January, CRT said repairing the wider damage to the site would be a "huge project costing several million pounds".

Why it matters

The incident adds to a series of failures on the Llangollen Canal, raising questions about the condition and maintenance of ageing canal infrastructure in Shropshire.

Sources

• bbc.com: Llangollen canal bank breached in Shropshire and homes flooded after pipe collapse
• whitchurchherald.co.uk: Llangollen canal breached after culvert failure; teams investigate | Whitchurch Herald

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.