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Meet Chris

Canal and River Trust Employee

"Compared to others, I'm just a baby in this job because I've only been a Canal & River Trust operative for nine years. Before that I used to manage a supermarket. Then when I started working on the canals life changed a bit. I was based at the historic Stourport Basins for years. When the canal in that area changed to come under the West Midlands region, I was moved to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Now that I work on this canal I tend to lose weight every summer because I walk up and down the Tardebigge Flight so much and I don't get to ride the quad bike very often! Part of my job is to check the water level in the side ponds here and keep an eye on all the activity along the flight. Sometimes I have to rescue cygnets at this time of year. The swans like to go into the side ponds, and the trouble is that although they can get back out of the ponds, their cygnets can't. They're too little and they get stuck. I'll get them out at the end of my day, but when I come to work the next morning the cygnets are stuck in there again. It's an ongoing task!

I get to do all sorts of things in this job, but I've got special radar that goes off when I see a camera coming. You're going to want to take my picture aren't you! Everybody knows how much I hate having my photograph taken."

Chris, Canal & River Trust operative, Hanbury Locks, Droitwich Canal

photo of a location on the canals
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