Canal clean up volunteers have appealed for help in cleaning the Failsworth portion of the Rochdale Canal.

The ‘Clean Up Failsworth Canal’ group has now posted a list of 2024 dates for its clean-ups.

The portion of the canal has previously been criticised for its dirtiness, with some boaters calling it the dirtiest they’ve been on. Last year, a boat sank just outside Failsworth after hitting a mattress.

Wildlife has also been seen to adapt to the mess, with a moorhen seen nesting with eggs on a shopping trolley last summer.

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This year, the clean-up group will meet once a month. Mostly on the third Sunday of each month, some months are on different dates due to conflicting holidays and events.

The previous clean-up, on January 21, saw six volunteers collect seven bags of broken rubbish, and a broken wheelchair

Throughout this year, the group will meet on February 18, March 24, April 21, May 26, June 23, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 20, November 17, and December 15.

More information can be found at the group’s Facebook page.

The group meets at 10 am each day in the Royal Oak Pub car park.

Those looking to join are asked to come in sturdy footwear and weather-appropriate clothing. All equipment is provided, however.

The Rochdale Canal, opened in 1804, was the first of three to cross the Pennines when it was built, used to carry cargo such as coal and food, towed by horses along the towpaths.

An almost 12-mile-long portion of the canal between Failsworth and Littleborough is considered a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the presence of Floating Water Plantain – a rare type of plant.

By the 1950s, commercial carrying had virtually finished and the canal, which was still in private hands, closed.

The canal was restored decades later, with the full canal re-opened in 2002.

Prior to 2012, the canal was managed by British Waterways, which was wholly owned by the government.

However, this was replaced by the Canal & River Trust charity in July 2012.

According to the government, its policy is that the Canal and River Trust should become "progressively more self-sufficient financially".   

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