PARENTS living by a stretch of canal have called for the rebuilding a collapsed wall where their children play.

The wall, at the bottom of Victoria Street, Rishton, is the only thing between the street and a 10-feet drop on to the canal bank

Residents say a 12-feet hole in the wall overlooking the Leeds and Liverpool Canal is putting youngsters' lives at risk.

And they say efforts to trace who is responsible for it have so far proved fruitless. A makeshift wooden fence covers some of the gap but even that is in a poor state.

Sandra Wallace, 55, is worried her two youngest grandchildren, aged seven and six, will fall in the canal if they go near.

"It's been like that for at least seven years and we have had enough of it. It's awful, it's gone on long enough. It's worse when the barges are moored here in the summer, all the kids want to come and see them.

"When we have a lot of rain the water level rises and it covers the grass.

"Whoever is responsible we do not know, we just want someone to do it for the children's sake.

"The council say it's not their responsibility and British Waterways say it's not theirs."

Alison Brown, 32, has two sons, Nathan, seven, and Kane, eight months. She said: "It's just frightening every time kids play out. It's like a nightmare in case one goes in. Kids don't think until something drastic happens. It attracts all the children."

Nicola Ellis, 27, said: "My girls don't actually climb on to it. They are quite good but I have seen lots of children climbing on it and I've known quite a few actually fall down it onto the grass verge."

Father-of-two Steven Nuttall, 44, said: "My seven-year-old son comes at weekends and he keeps going there and I keep telling him to keep away.

"It's dangerous for the kids, they have nowhere decent to play. They should build a high wall so kids can't go over.

"It's deep enough for a child to drown."

John Thompson, land surveyor for British Waterways, said: "We are only responsible to maintain walls on the towpath side. On the offside our responsibility goes up to the water's edge. Any walls or fences would have been constructed by someone else over the years."

Colin Beaumont, Hyndburn Council's engineering estate manager, said: "The road is clearly adopted by Lancashire County Council and maintained by us but we are not certain of the ownership of the wall at the end.

"We would have to go and investigate. If it's our responsibility we would take action, otherwise it would be up to the owner of the wall."