17 incredible photos show first of three canal boats left stranded in Midland canal breach refloated - and the two which remain
These pictures show the efforts today to refloat one of the three canal boats that were left stranded following the collapse of a canal embankment at Whitchurch.
In the early hours, a breach in the canal embankment in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch saw millions of gallons of water from more than 30 kilometres of canal pour out into neighbouring fields.
The narrowboat Pacemaker was left hanging precariously over the precipice of a 50-metre-long hole following a disaster along the Llangollen Canal on Monday, December 22.
On Christmas Eve, Pacemaker was winched out of the immediate breach area and away from danger.
Three weeks later, on Tuesday (January 13), Pacemaker's owner, Paul Stowe joined staff from the Canal & River Trust and various contractors and rescue services as they pulled the boat further away from the breach and installed a series of dams around the boat to create a small marina.
Water was then let in from the canal and the boat slowly began to rise.
But these pictures also show two other narrow boats which remain stranded in the bottom of the breach, ahead of an operation to winch them clear due to begin later this week.
