Caen Hill locks work shuts Kennet and Avon Canal section

The Caen Hill locks were built in 1810

A section of the Kennet and Avon Canal in Wiltshire has been closed to allow two leaking lock gates to be repaired.

The work on the Manifold gates, which sit at the top of the flight of 16 at Caen Hill, near Devizes, is necessary to make them watertight again.

A section of the canal will be drained and closed to boats during the work which is expected to last a week.

It is part of a £300,000 project by Canal and River Trust to improve the waterway over the winter period.

The trust's Robert Eaton said that "over time, lock gates do suffer a bit of wear and tear".

He said the work should be "quite straightforward" and would "give the gates a new lease of life".

The Caen Hill locks, built in 1810, were engineer John Rennie's solution to climbing the steep hill near Devizes and were the last part of the canal to be completed.

The locks, which have been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, form part of a longer 29-lock flight at Devizes which help raise barges 237ft (72m).