A canal boat user accidentally drained 200-year-old waterway - causing £3m worth of damage - after leaving locks open. Water ended up gushing down the Shropshire Union Canal, washing away the banks and leaving a huge gaping hole in the waterway.

Trees along the canal were torn from their roots, hundreds of fish died and boats were lifted from their moorings.

The 'human error' by an unknown Shropshire Union Canal user - thought to be on a boat or barge - will cost £3 million to repair.

It happened in March but the huge bill has only just been revealed after an investigation by the Canal and River Trust.

A 70 metre stretch of the waterway in Middlewich, Cheshire, was washed away after the canal overflowed, leaving a 12m deep hole.