Ashby Canal dredging underway

Canal & River Trust is carrying out dredging on the Ashby Canal as part of vital works to help ensure boaters can continue to use the centuries-old waterway.

The dredging, which is due to continue until 20 May, will see the charity remove around 7,000 tons of sediment at various locations on the canal between Sutton Cheney and Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, England, a distance of almost 4 miles.

The work is carried out using a special floating digger which will haul out silt which has accumulated on the bottom of the canal and load it into a hopper barge to be taken away.

The crews are also shoring-up a 150-metre section of the canal’s bank near Shenton. As part of the work, silt dredged from the canal will be used as ‘backfill’.

The remainder of the nutrient-rich dredged material will be unloaded and spread on to a canal-side farmer’s field near Far Coton.