Written by Michael Askin, 12 April 1996

First Boat through Town Lock for 50 years!

Good Friday was a day of celebration after the first boat for 50 years passed through Town Lock, Driffield. The town mayor, Councillor Jean Cousins did the honours, cutting the ribbon, but all did not go smoothly.

Mr Fraser, the owner of the land adjacent to the lock placed a fence, and sign obstructing the path of the balance beam. Police filmed, and Mr Fraser watched on as the obstacles were carefully removed. Mr Fraser who owns a bungalow next to the lock is considering making an allegation of criminal damage.

Also watching was a crowd of hundreds, which cheered when the gates were opened. It seemed there is a lot of local support for the restoration of the canal.

Moon Searcher waits for the gate to be opened.

The trip down to Whinhill lock went well, but a lot of silt was stirred up, even though the stretch was recently dredged. There was a short stop at Whinhill while the propeller was cleared of weed and a surprisingly large amount of plastic. The wildlife along the canal seemed completely uninterested in us, even though the opposition claimed boats would disturb them.

The Papers...

There was a nice article in the Hull Daily Mail which covered the opening but no other related stories.

Driffield Post, a weekly local paper, had a large colour photo on the front page, with a near comprehensive full page story inside which looked at many of the issues involved. 5 pictures accompanied the article, one of which has Mr Fraser showing off his "No Trespassing, Private Property" sign.

The event also made front page on Driffield Times (another weekly), this time however showing a different side:

"Angry scenes at canal opening" reads the headline,

"Tempers flared and a fence was ripped down during angry scenes at the opening of Driffield Town Lock."

The Television...