STEEPLEJACK Fred Dibnah has always been a visible character in the Leigh area trundling about on his beloved steam roller.
His latest career as a TV documentary maker has been a revelation. What a clever, fascinating and interesting chap he is behind that flat cap and oily overall.
I was watching his latest "The Building of Britain" series on the Leeds-Liverpool canal which featured part of the Leigh section.
After showing the wonderfully well kept countryside canal at Worsley and wonderful locks around Chorley and onwards he came to Leigh to admire the dereliction!
He reminisced about pulling down most of the mill chimneys in the area, showing the remaining one at Butts Mill, now chopped to half size.
It was so sad to see the magnificent yellow terracotta and red Accrington brick buildings now run down and in a state of collapse.
Surely developers could do something to cheer up this section of the canal to make it match up to the other leisure pleasure areas?
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