A LANCASHIRE heating engineer is claiming another 'first' on the Lancaster Canal's Northern Reaches.

Colin Ogden, 62, of Elswick, near Garstang, told the Gazette that, as far as he knows, the light-aircraft flight he took along the historic waterway from Garstang to Kendal has never been done before.

At the controls of the two-seater, single-engine Cessna was an air traffic controller from Blackpool Airport, Adrian Smith, flying northwards at 2,200 feet and 125mph.

The pilot descended to around 300 feet to enable his friend Mr Ogden to take close-up shots of the canal during the two-hour journey, including features such as Tewitfield Locks and the Lune Aqueduct.

"Another first for us," said Mr Ogden, referring to the Owd Lanky Boaters, the Facebook group he founded which now has 769 members who hope to see the Lancaster Canal's Northern Reaches fully restored.

In February the plumber and heating engineer sailed his dinghy through the brick-lined Hincaster Tunnel, last used commercially in 1944. In another first, this summer, he towed a vintage boat along the route of the canal into Kendal, accompanied by Morecambe photographer Laurraine Smith, costumed as Captain Jack Sparrow from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Mr Ogden is continuing his drive to preserve and attract publicity to the canal by launching an online petition.

He told the Gazette that the bid to repeal a piece of 1950s legislation would help to "prevent losing more of our industrial heritage and stop developers building on disused canals". He added: "This will also give restoration groups the possibility of restoring derelict canals."

So far the petition has attracted 860 signatures, and requires 10,000 names before the Government will respond -

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171532

Mr Ogden's Owd Lanky Boaters Group also has a new patron - Sir Humphry Wakefield, owner of Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland.

"I have been in contact with him and he is very enthusiastic about our endeavours regarding the Northern Reaches," said Mr Ogden, who recently visited the medieval property. "His family were heavily involved with the manufacturing of gunpowder in the Kendal area, and their wharf is on the Crooklands section."

He added: "What a lovely fellow; you couldn't have wished to meet a nicer chap."

Sir Humphry told the Gazette: "Thanks to the dashing and tireless initiative of gentlemen such as Colin Ogden and Frank Sanderson, the past glories of the Lakes are being revealed to lift her profile and declare yet more attractions to the ever-needy world."

Mr Ogden is also hoping to attract support from actor Timothy Spall and his wife Shane, who are known for their love of canals.