‘We were dreaming of Christmas on the canal – now we have to spend it in a hotel’

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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A retired couple from the United States who were looking forward to their first Christmas on their canal boat now have to live in a hotel A huge sinkhole has opened up in Shropshire.

Huge hole emerges in Llangollen Canal in Shropshire On Monday, several narrowboats were stuck in a hole or teetering on the edge of a drop.

Geoff and Pamela Poole were only three boats away from violation And said his boat had started listing. Ms Poole told the BBC that her neighbors woke her up at 4:20 a.m. on Monday by knocking on the door.

She said: “The whole boat was sinking and everything had fallen off. I literally watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas last night and I saw a Christmas tree with broken ornaments on the floor.”

The scene in Whitchurch, Shropshire, where emergency services have declared a major incident after receiving reports of a sinkhole causing large amounts of water to flow onto the ground in the Chemistry area of ​​Whitchurch at 4.22am this morning.

The scene in Whitchurch, Shropshire, where emergency services have declared a major incident after receiving reports of a sinkhole causing large amounts of water to flow onto the ground in the Chemistry area of ​​Whitchurch at 4.22am this morning. ,the countryside,

The couple were planning to celebrate their first Christmas on their boat and had only been on it for two and a half months.

Ms Poole said: “We have the loveliest little tree, our bed is completely covered in little lights. I’ve made a wreath at home”.

Geoff and Pamela Poole were just three boats away from the breach and said their boat began listing Monday morning.

Geoff and Pamela Poole were just three boats away from the breach and said their boat began listing Monday morning. ,the countryside,

Mr Poole said BBC: “We literally retired, dropped off two kids back in the US, flew over here, bought the boat back in May and then spent months getting it ready. That’s the end of our plans for the winter”.

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Although they will be able to visit family on Christmas Day, the couple will have to spend Christmas in a hotel because they do not have a spare bed.

Ten people have been rescued after a 50-metre sinkhole left several small boats stranded in a canal in Shropshire.

Ten people have been rescued after a 50-metre sinkhole left several small boats stranded in a canal in Shropshire. ,the countryside,

Another man told of a narrow escape from his listed canal boat in the middle of the night. 75-year-old Bob Wood was sleeping on his boat when he woke up in the middle of the night and thought he probably needed the toilet.

He said: “I woke up and thought: ‘We’re leaning over a bit’. I thought I was in the middle of a big storm. There was a lot of water.”

“I opened the back door to see why we were tilting and I realized it wasn’t raining at all and there was water running down the boat. I jumped in the back and took off, and the part was going down at that very moment. The back part went eight feet in the air and I was on my front”.

After this more than 10 people have been saved sinkhole opened up. Shropshire The Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident after a “significant breach” on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, Whitchurch on Monday morning.

three boats stuck sinkholeIt measures 50 meters in length and width, according to the service, which said its officials rescued more than 10 people. Aerial images show a boat partially hanging above the collapse of the hole.

Uk