MIDDLEWICH waterways were backed up this week when a narrow boat sunk in a lock in the Wardle Canal.

The boat sank in the canal, which links the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal, on Sunday night.

A team from The Canal and River Trust was sent to the lock in Middlewich on Monday morning and used specialist pumping equipment to retrieve the boat by early afternoon.

Michael Dean, a Middlewich resident who lives nearby to the lock, said: “At this time of year it’s a busy time for boats and there were loads of them backed up it was like the M6.

“The people from the Canal and River Trust did a great job though in redirecting the boats and getting the sunken boat out.”