A STRETCH of canal on the Tardebigge Flight has been drained of water.

Tony Brannon from the The Worcester-Birmingham and Droitwich Canals Society said the canal was discovered drained near the lock 57 area on Friday, June 29.

He said: "Whether this has been caused by accident or vandalism we simply don't know."

The Canal and River Trust, which looks after the country’s longest flight of locks, said the issue is likely to have been caused by someone leaving the paddles open.

A spokesman added: "We don’t know the reason for the low water levels but it’s likely to be someone accidentally leaving the paddles open. This does happen from time to time.

"Our teams were out moving water along the canal to get levels back up to normal.

"We’d encourage anyone using the canal to double check everything’s closed up when they’ve gone through the lock."