COUNCILLORS in Pendle are to meet with British Waterways to try to come up with ways to improve the state of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The meeting follows concerns about the canal around Brierfield including litter and overhanging trees and bushes, which were raised earlier this year by councillor Frank Wren .

Bosses at British Waterways have admitted problems with the canal but said lack of resources meant they were struggling to address the issues raised by Pendle Council, a response which has been met with disappointment by councillors.

In a letter to the council, Mike Marshall, customer operations manager for North West Waterways, said: "British Waterways are dedicated to providing a clean, safe and enjoyable environment for all our waterways customers.

"However, we are facing a difficult struggle to reduce the severe amounts of litter, fly tipping and general anti-social behaviour in some areas along the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

"The canal is cleared of debris on a frequent basis. We endeavour to keep the canal free from obstructions and continue to remove a high volume of litter and debris from the canal, much of which is discarded by local residents and canal users.

"Much of this littering takes place during late evenings and night time when little policing takes place. Unfortunately, this issue is difficult to enforce and we do not have the resources to take action against perpetrators of such activities.

"Unfortunately, we do not have the funds available to dedicate the volumes of staff required to make a long lasting impact on the problems that you have described.

"We accept that more could be done to address the issues you have raised, however, we simply do not have the money available to pay for all the works that we would like to complete as and when problems are identified."

Brierfield councillor Frank Wren said: "The state of the canal is an absolute disgrace and we cannot continue to allow it to be in such a state. We are doing alot to try and make Pendle a tourist destination. Elevate are spending millions of pounds in the area and here we have British Waterways doing absolutely nothing."