Last month The Daily Mash claimed that hundreds of lost indie bands had been discovered in Camden Lock after it was drained for repairs. The bands were thought to have stumbled into the canal while drunk and wearing shades at night.

“The musicians, caked in thick mud and entangled with shopping trolleys, empty cider cans and discarded crack cocaine wrappers, are being cleaned and restored by volunteers.”

This got me thinking about the other peculiar items that are sometimes discovered in England’s canals and rivers.

​1) Mystery Dead Pigeons on Trent and Mersey

A woman noticed around 15 dead pigeons while walking on the towpath of the Trent and Mersey Canal near Kidsgrove. Carole Williams takes a daily walk along the canal but on this occasion spotted a number of dead birds between Westport Lake and the Harecastle tunnel. The Stoke Sentinel stated that it is not yet known whether the birds had been shot or died of natural causes. Carole reported the situation to five different organisations but they were unable to help.

2) Shotgun in Leeds and Liverpool

Divers from the Police Underwater Search and Marine Unit have found a shotgun while looking for clues in a murder case. The Liverpool Echo reported that the gun was found near to Sandhills Station and has been sent off for forensic examination. Lewis Dunne was just 16 when he was shot on November 15th and later died in hospital. Police hope to identify the murderers using the forensic evidence.

3) Unexploded WW2 Bomb

A few years ago when I was living on a narrowboat in Hertfordshire on the Grand Union Canal, an unexploded bomb was discovered on the nearby Aylesbury arm. It was then detonated safely by bomb disposal experts. Although there was a lot of clearance done in the 1950’s there are still likely to be more bombs remaining in the UK canal system. A Canal World forum user writes,

“At about the time the coal traffic from the Moira cut (Ashby) to the paper mills finally finished BW were doing a bit of dredging and after only a few grabs they fished a bomb out from virtually under the bridge at Market Bosworth wharf. It was a bit alarming because until then you'd felt a bump on something hard and solid every time a loaded boat used to go under that bridge!”

4) Eight Year Old Boy Finds WWII Grenade

The Daily Mail reported that young Brando Smith was playing beside the Grand Union canal in London when he fished a grenade out of the water. He was using a magnet on a string to remove objects from the canal when suddenly he pulled the line up to see an unexploded grenade hanging on the end of it.

5) Boatshed Blogger in Drained Canal (pictured)

A few years ago The Canal and River Trust held an open day so that anyone could go and see the restoration work taking place on the Marsworth flight in Hertfordshire. The Trust were replacing the lock gates at lock 43 so the lock had been drained and scaffolding was erected in the lock. I lived nearby and went to find out more. We were given a guided tour up the towpath by a CRT volunteer, and staff in the lock explained their work. When the canal is drained it is obvious to see the amount of litter and debris that has been cast off into the canal. You may also see lost windlasses, tyre fenders and the remains of shellfish. Later that year Camden Lock was also drained for repairs and opened to the public,but on that occasion no lost indie bands were found: Camden Lock Drained for Restoration.

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