The Widnes canal crisis continued this week as wildlife lovers donned wellies to move swans to deeper waters in another town.
Lyndsey Byrne, of Hough Green, told the ECHO visitors had rescued 36 swans including a lone whooper to Winsford in mid-Cheshire, meaning about 15 or 16 swans remain in the Widnes stretch of the Sankey Canal at Spike Island.
The drastic action was taken following a rapid drop in water levels after a pump that had previously supplied fresh water was switched off due to the decommissioning of Fiddlers Ferry power station.
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Ms Byrne said relocated swans are “loving it in the clean water” in Winsford. She added she had been invited along with other stakeholders to a meeting with Halton Borough Council about the "heartbreaking" situation.
A post on social media said the swan rescue took place following discussions with officials. One comment branded the group who completed the transfer "absolute heroes".
Pictures published on social media showed swans muddied from waddling along river flats and standing on cracked and dried-up sections of canal. Ms Byrne said there was no truth to claims that anyone had taken it on themselves to any fish other than the official council relocation operation.
The swan rescue came as Derek Twigg, Labour MP for Halton, moved to arrange a meeting with Andy Carter, Conservative MP for Warrington South, the leaders and chief executives of Halton and Warrington borough councils, the Environment Agency and United Utilities to try to work out how to resolve the situation.
A spokeswoman for Mr Twigg's office said on Wednesday that Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside has also agreed to send a representative. Patience has frayed among Spike Island visitors and Widnes residents who have expressed anger at Halton Council for not finding a way to replenish the water since learning that Fiddlers Ferry was to be turned off.
The power station was switched off in March 2020 but energy operator SSE said it went “above and beyond” its obligations by agreeing to provide a temporary pumping station to allow time for a replacement arrangement to be found, and turned that off recently after the plant was “fully decommissioned”.
Larry Neild, resident and author, is among those to have criticised the local authority and recently called for Spike Island to be considered a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Status due to the canal’s role in the creation of Widnes and as part of the industrial revolution.
Mr Neild said the council should feel “quite ashamed” over the situation, but told the ECHO he was “delighted” with Mr Twigg’s move to hold a canal crisis “summit” and “hoping for a positive outcome”. Ms Byrne said she found a swan with an injured foot due to standing on metal which emerged from the canal depths as it dried out, adding the debris remained a risk and “not a soul” from any official organisation taking action to remove it.
She said: “There are metal things sticking up out of the water, they should be down here cleaning it out. “I’ve not seen a soul, it’s disgusting.
“We’re trying to get the swans out as quick as we can, it’s hard work. It’s taken a lot of people to do it. We need to arrange to do another big collection.”
She added: “You should have seen the people here yesterday getting the swans. There were loads of people.
“Everyone that comes down here, they really care. We’re just all gutted and devastated and frustrated none of us can do anything.”
A Halton Council spokeswoman said there were no further updates. The local authority has previously asserted its commitment to the future of the Sankey Canal in Widnes and said it has rescued more than 8,000 fish, but “with no straightforward solution, restoring the levels may take some time”.
Spike Island's swans have experienced a difficult past six months, having been hit by a deadly outbreak of bird flu towards the end of last year and confirmed in December.
