OVER the past four decades, Cotswold Canals Trust has been working hard to restoring the Stroudwater Navigation and Thames and Severn Canal.

Teams of volunteers from the Trust have been busy clearing towpaths, renovating bridges and helping to restore locks.

Although the work on the canals has mainly focused on the Stroud area, in recent years work has also been spent on maintenance activities and development projects in the eastern section of the Thames and Severn Canal, near Cirencester.

Currently a team of volunteers are dedicating their time several days a week, to repairing a collapsed bridge at Latton Basin.

Work is already well underway and the team have removed infill from the canal and the framework of the bridge, which is made of brick is being reassembled.

They also plan to restore a section of the canal from the Gateway Centre to Cerney Wick, so that it can then be used to run boat trips on around two or three years time.

But the Canal Trust are in desperate need of volunteers to help them complete their vision of a restored canal.

Volunteers are needed to restore the towpath, the canal itself, the bridge and a maintaining a restored path from Siddington to Latton Basin.

John Allan, a director of the Cotswold Canal Trust, said the organisation would appreciate any help they got in restoring the bridge.

He said: “We have a couple of volunteers working up there but their availability is limited so progress is slower then we would like.”

He added that skilled bricklayers would be particularly helpful to the project.

John explained that by restoring the section that runs from the Gateway Centre to Cerney Wick, cash will be raised and the profile of the organisation will be raised.

He said that this is turn would help the organisation and attract more members.

He said: “The Gateway Centre has a lot of visitors throughout the year, we would like to tap into that by having boat trips, which will raise awareness and publicity.

“This isn’t a problem in Stroud where the canal passes through the town centre and is very visible, but is a problem over this side where it is a long way from the towns of Cricklade & Cirencester. ”

An integral part of the project is maintaining the towpath between Siddington to Latton Basin.

For several years teams have been working to clear the towpath and the canal bed, maintaining canal structures, specifically targeting the locks.

It is essential this work is carried out relentlessly, with other parts of the work being tackled when volunteer numbers allow it.

“This is an important path because it does allow walkers from Cirencester to get a real feeling for the countryside through which the restored canal will pass and it does generate foot traffic and interest in our work,” explained John.

Stroudwater Navigation canal linked the River Severn with Stroud, then the 'wool capital' of England and opened in 1779 and closed in 1954.

The Thames & Severn Canal was completed in 1789 and joined the Stroudwater Navigation at Wallbridge in Stroud.

It closed in 1933 after the construction of railways caused trading on the canal to decline.

If you are able to volunteer to help restore the canal then call John on 07798 684092.