VOLUNTEERS who are helping to restore a historic flight of locks on the Lancaster Canal have a new base.

Canal enthusiast Colin Ogden has set up the Northern Reaches Restoration Community Interest Company to carry out work on Tewitfield Locks, near Carnforth. The project is being supported by the Canal and River Trust.

The new HQ, at Tewitfield Methodist Chapel, has been described as "a fantastic opportunity" by Mr Ogden. He said it would give volunteers somewhere to securely store equipment and arrange fundraising events. Future plans include coffee mornings, photographic exhibits, and a skills centre for the volunteer-led organisation.

The 14-mile-long Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal were cut off at Tewitfield during the 1960s when the M6 motorway was built.