'I fear another canal disaster' - Daughter of elderly Staffordshire couple issues renewed appeal after Shropshire canal incident
A woman campaigning on behalf of her elderly parents who fear their home next to a canal in Staffordshire will be washed away says she fears a disaster "on the scale of Shropshire".
Lynne Jefferson has been watching events unfold on the Llangollen Canal at Whitchurch where emergency services dealt with a hole appearing along the waterway, causing large volumes of water to escape onto land and leaving boats grounded.
Further investigation found it was embankment failure caused by erosion of the 200-year-old pathway not built to withstand large volumes of water, and Lynne she fears her parents' house, in Rugeley next to the Trent and Mersey Canal, as well as others are at risk.
The Express & Star reported a month before the incident in Whitchurch how Eileen and Cyril Clew's property in Lockside View suffers from constant flooding from boats using the turning point and churning up water to the point where fencing and wooden shuttering is being "washed away".
The pensioners are both in their 80s and still work every day to maintain the front garden and greenery around the towpath outside their home but daughter Lynne fears they are in danger because of the water and that a major incident is just waiting to happen.
She said: "I know the Shropshire incident is still being investigated but there are stark similarities between what has happened there and what is happening on the Trent and Mersey at Rugeley.
"If the embankment on the Llangollen Canal is 200 years old then so it will be on the Trent and Mersey, and so far in the recent case we have seen it is not able to withstand large volumes of water, and the turning point right in front of my parent's home is making it worse here.
"It might sound dramatic but I do fear a bigger incident on the scale of the Whitchurch one is likely to happen if action is not taken now to deal with the situation, by moderating the boats which churn up the water and leave their engines on even when not in use."
She has taken up a stage one complaint with the Canal & River Trust (CRT) which has already sent an engineer out to look at the situation.
In an original statement provided to the Express & Star a spokesperson said after a thorough investigation the trust had found the land was not owned by the CRT but housebuilders Persimmon Homes and it was unable to carry out repair to the section of the bank outside Mr and Mrs Clew's home.
The CRT and Persimmon Homes have again been approached for comment.
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