Newport Town Lock gets a £40,000 facelift

This section of the canal is owned by Telford and Wrekin Council

Work has begun on a £40,000 project to improve the remaining part of a disused canal in Shropshire.

Newport Town Lock and the bridge at Lower Bar are scheduled ancient monuments and part of the Shrewsbury and Newport canal.

A new footpath, ramp and steps will be installed adjacent to the lock.

Councillor Charles Smith, from Telford and Wrekin Council, said the area was "of significant historic importance to the town".

The Shrewsbury and Newport canal closed in 1944 and the 1.5 mile (2.4km) section around the town lock, which is owned by the council, is one of the few parts to survive.

The council said more resurfacing works within Canal Corner may follow but the scale of these additional works will depend "on the funding available".

The work will take six weeks to complete, a spokesman said.

The canal, which opened in 1797, linked Shrewsbury to the Shropshire Union canal.

The Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust was created in 2000 to preserve and restore the waterway.