Members of the Hereford-shire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust have been busy with restoration work in the Newent area.

Work parties have been active at Oxenhall Lock, the Ell Brook aqueduct and close to the fire station on the edge of the town.

Trust spokesman Brian Fox said: "We're well on target to complete the lock walls this year but there is still the sill to rebuild, together with oak beams across the top, landscaping the non-towpath bank and repairs to the footbridge.

"Ladders must be specially made to fit into the ladder recesses. No gates will be put on at this stage but water will be let into the lock at the lower level.

"In order to achieve this, it has been necessary to build a temporary dam about 60 yards below the lock which will impound the water to a depth of about 4ft in the lock."

The nearby Ell Brook aqueduct will be the team's next major project, when the Oxenhall Lock is completed.

Work has already started on clearing away the vegetation from the structure, and London-based structural engineering consultants have carried out an initial survey of the aqueduct.

Gloucestershire County Council has given permission for restoration work to go ahead.

Mr Fox said that work parties had been cutting down trees and pulling up the stumps.

He added: "A temporary fence to keep out fly-tippers has now been completed and another fence erected on top of the old railway bridge abutments, as a safety precaution.

"Altogether, it's an exciting time for the work parties at Newent and no doubt for local people as word gets around of our intentions to restore a mile of canal next to the town."