Jack is taking the pee – to highlight serious situation
THE Widnes canal crisis has inspired an 87-year-old man who has been visiting Spike Island for 80 years to hold a mock “pee” protest over dwindling water levels.
Jack Jones posed with a running hose pipe in a stunt aimed at highlighting the plight of the beauty spot and the Sankey Canal which has been drying out in recent months.
He was assisted and joined by members of West Bank Boat Club including chairman Derek White who said they wanted to show that a man in his 80s was “doing more than the council”.
Mr Jones said he has been visiting the park for 80 years from the time when his father had a shrimp boat. He said wanted to do something because “we’re not going to get the water from anywhere else, at the moment”.
Speaking with hose in hand and water pouring, Mr Jones said: “It’s getting low down and there’s no other way of getting it.
“The council don’t seem to be helping. Nobody seems to be helping, so I’m doing my best to do what I can.”
“We want everybody down here to help us out and there’s some good lads down here who it’d be alright if they can come and help us.”
Frustrations have been rising in recent months after a fresh water pump was switched off following the decommissioning of Fiddler’s Ferry power station, leading to the Widnes stretch of the Sankey Canal drying out.
With boats now listing and marooned for fear of opening the river locks and leaking out more water or killing fish with a salty top-up from the Mersey, mariners and visitors have become increasingly desperate for the situation to be resolved.
Mr White said boats are now being burgled because thieves can walk through the shallow waters to access the craft.
The search for a solution goes on and Mr White added that he has found a rivulet from Bowers Brook that could be diverted at little or no cost but that Halton Borough Council is not keen.
He said an expert ecologist has tested the rivulet and found it to be slightly salinated but safe for the canal.
The boat club chairman added people were “disgusted” with the canal situation.
His comments followed recent dramatic scenes in which visitors and wildlife fans waded into the dwindling canal to move swans to deeper waters in Winsford.
Wide patches of dry canal bed are now visible along with debris and items such as a shopping trolley.
One Spike Island visitor said they had seen “grown men in tears” over the situation.
Halton Council had repeatedly insisted it is committed to Sankey Canal and finding a solution to the situation, but that there is “no straightforward solution” and “restoring the levels may take some time”.
The local authority said its rescue efforts have saved and transferred more than 13,000 fish, mainly roach, perch and bream, to other waterways.
Fourteen large carp have also been moved.
A council spokesperson said the drop in water levels also means repairs and improvements can take place that wouldn’t have been “extremely difficult”, and to use materials that were “completely unknown” to the engineers who built the canal in the early 1830s and can make it more waterproof.
“Numerous” rubbish clear-ups have also taken place since May, removing six skips of waste, rubble and other items such as tyres and a “large quantity” of scrap metal.
Critics of the council response say officials have had years to figure out a solution after it was first announced Fiddler’s Ferry was to close as part of the Government’s climate commitments.
In an updated statement, a Halton Council spokesperson said: “Halton Borough Council is restating its commitment to a successful future for the Sankey Canal and Spike Island.
“Like those who have raised their concerns over social media, the council too wants the Sankey Canal and Spike Island to be thriving locations enjoyed by the whole community.
“Likewise, the council also wants to see water in the canal and continues to work to find a permanent and sustainable solution.
“Indeed, ward councillors, supported by council officers, have been working for many years to achieve this.”
In a statement addressed to protestors, Cllr Mike Wharton, Halton Council leader, said: “I do hear and understand your concerns.
“I want to assure you again of the council’s long term commitment to both the Sankey Canal and Spike Island and to finding solutions to the current issues.
“Today, local interest groups have been invited to meet with senior council officers, so that the officers can listen to the groups’ concerns and for information to be shared about previous efforts and current plans to address the issues.
“I hope at the meeting there will also be an opportunity to dispel some of the rumours that are currently circulating – including that the council plans to develop Spike Island for housing – which has absolutely no truth.
“As a result of these discussions, I really do hope that people will be reassured of our good intentions for the canal and Spike Island.”