In the early hours of December 22, 2025, a peaceful stretch of the Llangollen Canal in Whitchurch, Shropshire, was transformed by disaster. What began as a typical winter night quickly escalated into a major incident when a massive embankment failure—initially described as a sinkhole—caused a gaping hole to open beneath the canal, sending water surging into nearby fields and leaving boats stranded, sunken, or teetering on the very edge of catastrophe.
According to the BBC, the collapse occurred shortly after 4:00 AM GMT, with residents and boaters jolted awake by a series of loud, unsettling noises. Some described the sensation as akin to an earthquake. Lorraine Barlow, who lives on a boat called The Singing Kettle, recounted, “About 04:20 this morning I could feel that there was something amiss, there seemed to be a current coming from underneath the boat, and bubbling, it sounded really unusual. Then I was tilting to the middle of the canal, I could feel the ropes were getting tight.”
Firefighters and emergency crews responded rapidly. Scott Hurford, area manager at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, told the BBC, “There are up to 15 people who had to be moved out of the way to safety, and there’s a number of canal boats that have been affected—some of those have gone into the field and some are at the bottom of the canal.” In total, fifty firefighters were deployed, working through unstable ground and the rush of escaping water to evacuate residents and secure the scene.
The sheer scale of the damage was immediately apparent. The embankment collapse created a trench estimated at 150 to 180 feet (45 to 55 meters) long and about 15 feet (4 meters) deep. Two narrowboats fell into the hole, with a third left teetering on the edge—its fate uncertain as the ground continued to shift. Paul Storey, a local boater, described the chaos: “We were awoken at about 04:20 this morning with a crash on the boat, things were sliding out of the cabinets… We got off the boat, walked about 100 yards in front. We could hear the breach, the rush of water was amazing... We saw a boat that had gone over the edge and was in the bottom of the breach. We witnessed another boat being washed away.”
Video footage captured by Paul Smith-Storey, who runs the YouTube channel Narrowboat Life Unlocked, showed the terrifying moment a boat slipped over the edge, the wood creaking and shattering as it was swallowed up. “Thank the lord he got off his boat,” Smith-Storey said of one fortunate owner. “He heard the noise and got off his boat thankfully in time because his boat was basically washed away in the bottom of that sinkhole. As we were chatting, the hole seemed to get bigger and was teetering over the edge, more of the bottom of the canal washed away and that boat went over the edge as well.”
West Mercia Police and the Canal and River Trust (CRT) quickly cordoned off the area, advising the public to avoid the scene and closing the canal between Lock 6 Grindley Locks and Bridge 31A, Whitchurch By-Pass bridge. Emergency crews installed a flood gate to stem the flow of water and protect nearby residents from further flooding. Andy Hall, a Whitchurch councillor, emphasized the urgency: “Their biggest worry was that the canal was going to burst even more and flood residents in the town.”
Despite the drama and destruction, there were no reported casualties—a fact that left many feeling relieved. Councillor Sho Abdul, representing Whitchurch West for Shropshire Council, called it “an absolute miracle,” adding, “It’s absolutely insane, you wouldn’t have thought this was a sinkhole, it looks like a bomb’s gone off, and it’s just a huge crater.”
For the people who live on their boats, the incident was deeply personal. Many lost not just their vessels but their homes, mere days before Christmas. Andy Hall told the Daily Mail, “It is Christmas, so all their belongings, their life is there and our duty is we have to put our arm around them and look after them at this time of year. That is our priority.” Fourteen residents were relocated to a welfare center at the former Whitchurch Police Station, where local authorities coordinated support and temporary housing.
The environmental impact was also significant. A million gallons of water are estimated to have drained from the canal into the adjacent fields, leaving the landscape saturated and muddy. The CRT, responsible for the upkeep of the canal, clarified that the incident was not a sinkhole but an embankment failure—a subtle but important distinction. Mark Durham, the Trust’s principal engineer, explained, “The embankment in question was a man-made one, and designed to ‘hold the canal up, which it’s done for over 200 years.’” The cause of the failure remains under investigation, though the Trust emphasized its robust inspection scheme and ongoing commitment to safety.
As the dust settled, the focus shifted to recovery and rebuilding. The CRT pledged to recover the stricken boats and reconstruct the damaged embankment, though the timeline for repairs remains uncertain. “We will also seek to return water levels either side of the breach as soon as possible and are providing support to the boaters affected and those in the immediate area either side of the breach,” a spokesperson said.
The incident has also raised concerns about the long-term stability of the canal system, particularly as similar events have been reported elsewhere. Helen Lacey, a local boater, reflected, “Friends of ours in Lymm, Cheshire were affected by something similar last year. But why this seems to be happening now is hard to fathom. Why are canal banks suddenly not safe?” The Llangollen Canal is a vital artery for tourism and local business, often dubbed the “M1 by boaters,” and its closure is expected to have a ripple effect on the region’s economy.
Emergency crews, including West Mercia Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, the Environment Agency, and local authorities, continue to monitor the situation, manage environmental risks, and support those displaced. The CRT has promised regular updates as the investigation and recovery proceed.
For now, the community in Whitchurch faces a long road to recovery, but the swift response and absence of casualties offer a glimmer of hope amid the upheaval. As Christmas approaches, the focus remains on supporting those who have lost their homes and restoring a cherished waterway to its former tranquility.
