Canal locks closed off overnight after vandals cause flood
Vandals have forced the closure of a canal towpath after causing a flight of locks to flood.
The Ryders Green locks on the Walsall Canal between West Bromwich and Great Bridge flooded yesterday morning.
Canal and River Trust officials filmed the moment water cascaded from the canal at the series of eight locks.
The charity, which manages waterways and canals, branded the vandalism as 'dangerous' claiming it was the latest in a series of acts.
Now they have taken the step to close locks and towpath area off overnight until further notice' in a bid to stop the persistent vandalism.
The Ryders Green locks, off Ryders Green Road, will be closed between 4pm and 8am.
Over the past two and a half weeks a number of incidents have occurred, including 10 water conversion locks and five frog catches being broken.
The vandalism has resulted in significant amounts of water running down the flight leaving water levels on parts of the network 80mm lower that they should be.
A spokesman for the Canal and River Trust said: “This vandalism is really frustrating and disheartening for all of the staff and volunteers who work so hard on the canal and it’s hard to understand why someone would treat their local area in this way.
"Not only are the vandal’s actions incredibly dangerous but they also have an impact on the whole community.
"The canal is a really important place for local people, offering a green traffic-free route to work, to keep fit or just to clear their heads.
"By abusing the canal in this way the vandals are taking that away from local people.
“Early indications are that the engineering works alone could cost several thousand pounds and the Canal & River Trust, a charity, is being left to pick up the tab.
"That’s not to mention the time and resources we’ve put into responding to the flooding, reinstating the towpath and repairing lock mechanisms.
"As a charity these are resources which could be much better spent improving the canals for everybody and that’s a real shame.”
The Canal and River Trust is also liaising with Sandwell Council and West Midlands Police to tackle the ongoing issues on the flight.
