Emergency dam installed after Swindon canal sinkhole found

A tarpaulin and poles are creating a "cofferdam" to stop water leaving the canal

A temporary dam has been put in place to stop a canal emptying after a sinkhole was discovered.

Wilts & Berks Canal Trust (WBCT) members spotted the sinkhole on a bank by the canal in Swindon at a point where it crosses the River Ray.

Trust members contacted Swindon Borough Council and emergency measures were put in place to "avert potential crisis".

Councillor Chris Watts, cabinet member for environment, said: "You don't want the canal emptying into the river."

After making the area safe, investigations are now taking place to find out what may have caused the sinkhole to appear.

WBCT chair Chloe Ford said they were "fairly nervous" when they discovered it as part of a routine inspection "because it looked quite substantial".

"We'd lost quite a lot of soil and it's got to go somewhere. They [the council team] were on site almost immediately," she added.

Rod Hacker said there may be some problems with a 200-year-old aqueduct at the site

Rod Hacker from WBCT said: "There is an old stone aqueduct down there, built 200 years ago, and we think there are some problems with that.

"It's always monitored and checked as with the rest of the canal."

Some repair work to the aqueduct may be required but the team are waiting for the results of the investigation.

Chloe Ford (left) and Peggy-Sue Ford (right) are part of the Swindon branch of the trust

Mr Watts explained that the masonry is likely to be pre-Victorian and thanked WBCT for contacting the council swiftly so that emergency measures could be taken.

"Something like this, you have to act quickly. We have the river that runs below the canal, the River Ray, which goes through the middle of Swindon," he said.

"This canal is very much loved by the people of Swindon. It's actually one of the key leisure assets that we have in the town," Mr Watts added.

Councillor Chris Watts said the canal is "very much loved by the people of Swindon"

WBCT has only short stretches left in its project to reinstate the canal in sections.

Peggy-Sue Ford, branch secretary, said that they want to get the Swindon section of the canal approved to go back into the town centre, to Wharf Green, where it used to flow.

The canal would have previously run between Semington, near Melksham, all the way to Abingdon, and the main aim of the trust is to reinstate it in full.