This is the astonishing sight in Dunham Massey today after heavy flooding caused the first breach of the Bridgewater Canal there in over 50 years.
Unrelenting rain since Tuesday afternoon has led to a number of flood warnings across the Altrincham area, as well as numerous flooded roads, homes and stranded cars.
But the most dramatic incident has come in Dunham Massey, where a whole section of the canal's embankment has completely collapsed.
Exclusive Altrincham Today drone footage shows the extent of the damage, with one side of the canal having completely given way, with water diverted into a neighbouring field.
Watch the footage here:
Such a breach is an extremely rare event in the history of the Bridgewater Canal, which first opened in 1761 and is owned by The Bridgewater Canal Company Ltd, a member of the Peel Land and Property Group.
One breach occurred soon after opening and a sluice also failed in 2005, but a breach of this magnitude has not been witnessed since the 1971 breach by the Bollin aqueduct, close to today's incident.
On that occasion, the canal was closed for two years and the repair cost a then £250,000, which would be over £3million in today's money.
The scene of today's incident - a popular walking route for local residents and dog-owners - is now closed off by police tape, with numerous police vehicles at the scene.
The below footage, from reader Peter White, shows the collapsed embankment from ground level:
❗️Major incident in Dunham Massey, where the Bridgewater Canal has been breached for the first time since 1971.
— Altrincham Today (@altrinchamtoday) January 1, 2025
🎥 Peter White pic.twitter.com/yjj5NcWo1h
Writing on the Manchester Ship Canal Facebook group, Ian Daniels said that emergency wooden slats had been put in place at Agden in an attempt to try and stem the flow of water, but that "lots of water is getting past them".
He added: "The canal in Lymm has dropped by about a foot and has quite a flow on it at the moment."
Another contributor, Ian Harwood, commented on the Altrincham Today Facebook page: "In 1971 the stonework of the aqueduct over the Bollin fractured spilling the canal water into the river and flooding the surrounding land. This time it looks like the embankment has become so saturated it's slipped away and not been able to support the weight of the canal water."
