BRITAIN'S canals are an underused resource, according to Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.
Mr Prentice, who was visiting British Waterways refurbished offices in Burnley today, called for a new canal age to boost tourism in East Lancashire.
Mr Prentice, who sometimes cycles along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal from his home in Barnoldswick to his Nelson office, said: "I often find myself thinking what a tremendous asset it is to the area.
"I have spoken to English Heritage about ways of making the history and the construction of the canals more accessible to people, perhaps through signs and information points along the way.
"This is done to a limited extent at the moment, but I am sure there is scope for more.
"The nation's canal network needs to be constantly maintained. Canals, once silted up and lost, become impossibly expensive to re-open. They are a living legacy of Britain's early industrial past."
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