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All closures / Why they close / Suspected Vandalism
Suspected Vandalism
Too few unplanned closures filed this way in June to August 2026 and the same months a year earlier to tell a change from luck: 1 against 2. How a change is tested.
- On record
- 12 notices since May 2025: 10 closures and 2 restrictions
In force today
No closure filed this way is in force today.
By canal
10 canals have had a closure filed this way. A closure naming two canals counts on both.
| Canal | Closures |
|---|---|
| North Stratford Canal | 3 |
| Glasson Branch (Lancaster Canal) | 1 |
| Grand Union Canal | 1 |
| Macclesfield Canal | 1 |
| Market Harborough Arm (GU Cnl) | 1 |
| Oxford Canal | 1 |
| Regent's Canal | 1 |
| River Witham | 1 |
| Rushall Canal | 1 |
| Walsall Canal | 1 |
Every closure on record
Showing 10 closures and 2 restrictions CRT filed as “Suspected Vandalism”.
Rank by
Population
4 closures are in neither group: 4 unplanned with no day in the cruising season since May 2025.
Status
Duration
Cause
Asset affected
Lock part
Unplanned lock failures naming a part
Water problem
Unplanned failures naming one
CRT reason
Region
What these figures mean
- Population
- Which closures a figure counts. All closures is everything; Unplanned closure drops the works CRT flags as its winter programme and any day outside the cruising season (the Friday nearest 15 March to the Sunday before the first Monday in November). Scheduled work CRT does not flag as winter works still counts here. CRT Planned closure is the flagged winter programme alone.
- Defensible duration
- The days between a closure's start and its reopening date, counted only where the dates allow it. A cancelled notice, or one whose reopening precedes its start, has no defensible duration and is in no total.
- Closure-days
- One day on which one closure was in force. Two closures on the same day are two closure-days; where the question is how long a canal was actually disrupted, overlapping notices are unioned into single intervals. They are counted from 1 May 2025, when this archive begins: a closure that started earlier adds only its days since then, though its own row shows its whole length. Every figure and chart counts only the days inside the Period chosen above them.
- In force
- A closure is in a Period, and a day is one a closure affected, if it was in force at any time that day, including the morning it reopened. Closure-days measure how long, so they count whole days and not the reopening day: a closure can be in a Period and add no closure-day to it.
Closures in force each month
closures active during the monthCanals ranked by the season's closures
share of the period's cruising-season days up to today — a closure somewhere on a long canal is likelier, and does not mean the canal was impassableclosures in force on the period's cruising-season days — a longer canal has more to go wrong onWhere
closure-days by regionclosures by regionA region with more canal has more to go wrong on, so these totals partly measure its size. Regions compared by length of canal are on the Reliability page.
What causes them
closure-days by causeclosures by causeWhat fails
closure-days by assetclosures by assetWhat fails on a lock
closure-days by part — unplanned lock failures naming a partclosures by part — unplanned lock failures naming a partHow long they last
closures by full length, including any days before May 2025 — the bands are not equal in widthClosures
Shipton Lift Bridge 219
Oxford CanalLondon and South East
14 days
From 15 December 2025
Reopened 29 December 2025
- Where
- Lock 41, Shipton Lock to Flood Gate
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Struck by boat or vehicle
- Asset
- Lift bridge
Repair works are planned to mobilise on 29th December 2025
Latest of 2 CRT updates, 24 December 2025.
Lock 1, Lodge Hill - Lock 6, Glasson Branch, Lancaster Canal
Glasson Branch (Lancaster Canal)North West
9 days
From 7 May 2025
Reopened 16 May 2025
- Where
- Lock No.1 to Lock No.6
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Canal or river
We're pleased to confirm that our teams will have the water levels restored in time for the weekend, and the canal between Lock 1 and Lock 6 will reopen on Friday. Our teams have been working hard to get the navigation back open. Progress had been paused to resolve an issue with…
Latest of 4 CRT updates, 14 May 2025.
Rushall Lock Flight
Rushall CanalWest Midlands
9 days
From 1 June 2026
Reopened 10 June 2026
- Where
- Lock 1, Top Lock Rushall to Lock 9, Rushall
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Canal or river
Water levels have shown some improvement; however, they remain below the required level for navigation. We are aiming to reopen on Wednesday and will provide a further update at that time.
Latest of 3 CRT updates, 8 June 2026.
Navigation Closure - Grand Union Canal, Lock 84 Copper Mill Lock, Harefield
Grand Union CanalLondon and South East
7 days
From 17 April 2026
Reopened 24 April 2026
- Where
- Lock 84, Copper Mill Lock
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Lock
The ground paddle has been repaired and the gates have been lined. The gates still leak below the water, increasing the time it takes for the lock to fill. Operatives will return in the morning to complete the repair. Once we have a further update we will update this notice…
Latest of 4 CRT updates, 23 April 2026.
City Road Lock closure
Regent's CanalLondon and South East
6 days
Fully shut 6 of CRT's 11 days
From 25 April 2025
Reopened 6 May 2025
none of them since this archive began on 1 May 2025
- Where
- Lock 5, City Road Lock
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Cause not stated
- Asset
- Lock
We are pleased to announce that we have now got everything in place to be able to offer assisted passage through City Road Lock for single narrow craft only. The days/times are as follows: Thursday 1st May 2025 1030 1400 Friday 2nd May 2025 1030 1400 Saturday 3rd May 2025 1030…
CRT's only update, 6 May 2025.
Walsall Lock Flight
Walsall CanalWest Midlands
6 days
From 20 February 2026
Reopened 26 February 2026
- Where
- Lock 1, Walsall Top Lock to Lock 3, Walsall
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Lock
The lock flight will remain closed until the team have dewatered it and removed the rubble. We will provide a further update on Thursday.
Latest of 2 CRT updates, 24 February 2026.
Foxton Swing-Bridge
Market Harborough Arm (GU Cnl)East Midlands
1 day
From 7 July 2025
Reopened 8 July 2025
- Where
- Bridge 4, Foxton Swingbridge
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Struck by boat or vehicle
- Asset
- Swing bridge
We have had to close Foxton Swing Bridge due to a collision which has damaged the barriers. We will be on site tomorrow morning to assess the damage and determine what repairs are required. Please do not use the bridge until the repairs have been completed. We will update this…
CRT's only update, 7 July 2025.
Shirley Drawbridge
North Stratford CanalWest Midlands
1 day
Fully shut 1 of CRT's 1 day
From 27 August 2025
Reopened 28 August 2025
- Where
- Bridge 8, Shirley Drawbridge
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Struck by boat or vehicle
- Asset
- Lift bridge
Navigation at Shirley Drawbridge is currently closed after a vehicle struck the barriers. Our contractors have been contacted, and we will provide an update as soon as we receive a confirmed timeframe for repairs. In the meantime, our local team will attend site at 9:00am and…
CRT's only update, 27 August 2025.
Stamp End Lock 1
River WithamEast Midlands
1 day
From 9 September 2025
Reopened 10 September 2025
- Where
- Lock 1, Stamp End Lock
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Lock
Due to suspected vandalism to the locking mechanism, Stamp End Lock is not currently operational. We are working to fix this as soon as possible. We will update this notice as soon as we have further information.
CRT's only update, 9 September 2025.
Bridge 49, Royal Oak Swing Bridge
Macclesfield CanalNorth West
1 day
From 2 December 2025
Reopened 3 December 2025
- Where
- Bridge 49, Royal Oak Swingbridge
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Vandalism
- Asset
- Swing bridge
Due to suspected vandalism on the lock mechanism at Bridge 49, Royal Oak Swing bridge on the Macclesfield Canal, we've had to temporarily close navigation. Contractors have been instructed to attend. A further update will be provided Wednesday 3 December.
CRT's only update, 2 December 2025.
Bridge 8, Shirley Drawbridge
North Stratford CanalWest Midlands
same day
From 21 July 2025
Ended 21 July 2025
Restriction, not a full closure
- Where
- Bridge 8, Shirley Drawbridge
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Struck by boat or vehicle
- Asset
- Lift bridge
Navigation is currently closed at Shirley Drawbridge after a vehicle struck the barriers. Our contractors have been contacted, and we're hoping to have the repairs completed this afternoon. In the meantime, our local team will be on-site at 3:00 PM today and 9:00 AM tomorrow…
CRT's only update, 21 July 2025.
Bridge 8, Shirley Drawbridge
North Stratford CanalWest Midlands
same day
From 27 July 2026
Ended 27 July 2026
Restriction, not a full closure
- Where
- Bridge 8, Shirley Drawbridge
- CRT reason
- Suspected Vandalism
- Cause
- Struck by boat or vehicle
- Asset
- Lift bridge
Navigation is currently closed at Shirley Drawbridge after a vehicle struck the barriers. Our contractors have been contacted, and will attend to make repairs. In the meantime, our local team will be on-site at 10:00 Am & 14:00 Pm today to manually allow boats through. We will…
CRT's only update, 27 July 2026.
Showing the 12 longest of 12. Every row links to the notice CRT published.
Why they close · Canals · Reliability · Trends · Download data