A major incident has been declared in Shropshire after a large sinkhole opened up beneath the Llangollen Canal in Whitchurch, prompting the rescue of 14 people from narrowboats. The crater, measuring approximately 50 metres by 50 metres, began to develop at 4.22am on 22 December 2025 in the Chemistry area.
Firefighters rescued occupants from three narrowboats moored in a section of the canal that completely drained of water. Two narrowboats have fallen into the hole and remain on the canal bed, while a third teeters on the edge. Crews battled unstable ground and rapidly moving water to rescue 14 members of the public; no injuries have been reported.
Bob Wood, 75, a canal boat resident who has lived on his boat for eight years, described his escape. He had moored at the site only the night before. He said: 'I was in the boat asleep and I thought I needed to go to the toilet so I got up and thought "we are leaning a bit". I thought I was in the middle of a big storm, there was the sound of a lot of water. I opened the back door to see why we were tilting and realised it was not raining at all and it was the water running away under the boat. I jumped on the back and stepped off and that bit was going down at that second. The back went eight foot in the air and I landed on my front.'
Councillor Andy Hall, representing Whitchurch North, said the focus is on supporting those evacuated. 'We have a team coming down looking at how we are going to house and look after those 14 residents. 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.'
A multi-agency response has been set up, and residents have been urged to avoid the area. The canal bank collapsed, allowing large volumes of water to escape into the surrounding land.
