PRESS RELEASE
28 September 2012
CANAL CHARITY LAUNCHES EMERGENCY APPEAL FOLLOWING MAJOR BREACH ON
TRENT & MERSEY CANAL
The Canal & River Trust is calling on help from the public, following the major breach of the Trent &
Mersey Canal at Dutton Hollow, near Preston Brook. The breach, which came after the unusually
heavy downpour of rain earlier in the week, swept a section of the 200-year old canal into a nearby
farmer’s field in the early hours of Wednesday 26 September.
Engineers from the Canal & River Trust have estimated that the repairs are likely to cost around
£1.5 million and are aiming to get the canal re-opened as quickly as possible. The charity, which
cares for 2,000 miles of canals, rivers and docks in England and Wales, can fund the repair bill
from its contingency fund but this will divert money from other essential maintenance and
improvement works.
David Baldacchino, waterway manager for the Canal & River Trust, explains: “As a new charity
something of this scale and cost really sets us back, diverting precious resources from other work
on the waterways. While we have a contingency to cover events of this kind it takes away
resources from elsewhere.”
Walter Menzies, Chairman of the Canal & River Trust’s Manchester & Pennines Partnership, adds
“The Trent & Mersey Canal is a huge asset to the local area and an engineering marvel, but it was
never designed to cope with the exceptional levels of rainfall we have seen this week. Today we
are counting the costs of the deluge and asking local people who love the canal to help us
overcome this major problem.”
Anyone wishing to support this emergency appeal to repair the breach they can log on to
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/breach or alternately text BREACH to 70800. Every penny
donated will go directly to repairing the canal.
ENDS
For media enquiries please contact Helen Hall on 077177 60284 or email:
helen.hall@canalrivertrust.org.uk
Canal & River Trust 1 Sheldon Square Paddington Central London W2 6TT
T 0207 985 7263 E press.office@canalrivertrust.org.uk www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
Patron: H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. Canal & River Trust, a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales
with company number 7807276 and registered charity number 1146792, registered office address First Floor North, Station House, 500
Elder Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 1BB
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Notes to editors:
The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and
Wales. We are among the largest charities in the UK, maintaining the nation’s third largest
collection of Listed structures, as well as museums, archives, navigations and hundreds of
important wildlife sites.
We believe that our canals and rivers are a national treasure and a local haven for people and
wildlife. It is our job to care for this wonderful legacy – holding it in trust for the nation in perpetuity
and giving people a greater role in the running of their local waterways
The low pressure system that brought heavy rain and flooding across large parts of the country
earlier this week was the most intense to cross the UK in September for over 30 years, bringing
twice the usual monthly rainfall in just a couple of days in some areas. This has led to widespread
flooding, both of rivers and some canals.
Members of the public wishing to support the repairs to the Trent & Mersey Canal breach can text
the word BREACH to 70800 to give £5* or by go to our website and make a donation online here:
http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/breach
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
*You will be charged £5 plus one message at your standard network rate. The Canal & River Trust
will receive a donation of at least £4.97 from all major networks of your £5. By using this service,
you agree that we may contact you in the future. If you’d rather we didn’t, text DECLINE to 70007