HUSBAND and wife television stars Timothy West and Prunella Scales were in South Lakeland filming for their Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

Timothy and Prunella, who will forever be known as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil, went to inspect the work of the Lancaster Canal Trust.

The trust is currently in the throes of restoring the the first furlong of the Lancaster Canal at Stainton, near Kendal.

"We've been exploring the Lancaster Canal and we're here at this point where you can't go any further," said Mr West.

"We're looking at the trust's plans to connect the canal up to Kendal.

"They're obviously working as hard as they can and we wish them every success in it.

"We're here for nine days filming and it's hard work but we do find out an awful lot of things."

For wife Prunella, the journey to South Cumbria was filled with nostalgia. She recalled spending much of her childhood in the area having been evacuated to Windermere during World War II.

"It's a lovely part of the world and I've enjoyed being here very much," she said.

"It feels like being back home in a way and it's great to be back."

In the depths of the first furlong, the camera crews observed canal trust members hard at work lining the bed of the canal to waterproof it.

For the Lancaster Canal Trust, ultimately working towards reconnecting the canal from Preston to Kendal, the exposure of the acting couple and the television cameras came as a huge boost.

"It couldn't be any better for us to have their interest," said trustee Fred Mason. "It's excellent exposure for us and the advertising power of something like this will bring us to the forefront. We do a lot of work that never gets noticed so this is absolutely fantastic."