Okay, I have some pictures.. only a couple but you can see the extent of the damage and delay the breach will cause.
Pictures of the breach :: www.salecruisingclub.co.uk
Apparently, according to friend who's in the know, a sluice at Potato Wharf in Castlefield, Manchester is very badly damaged, and was draining the whole of the 40ish lock free canal.
There are numerous stop planks but the only working one, which just on the southern side of Sale Town bridge is the only one that's been put into use.. If you're not sure where Sale is in location, it's about the middle of the length of canal.
Because these stop plank haven't been used for god knows how long, they just aren't doing their job and they have had to be secured by a coping stone which is sat on the planks very cautiosly.
The stop planks in question are in Sale town centre, and could be vandalised, or the coping could be pushed into the canal which would cause the planks to literally pop out so the water would run away faster. When I was there, some youths were running across and there was no sign of any officials or security.
The northern side of the breach has suffered the most (obviously).. around the Trafford Park area, the canal was completely drained - you could see the bottom, but because of the stop planks, the southern part of the canal is bypassing the poorly installed stop planks and is being lost through the damaged sluice at Castlefield. This is putting the boats on the moorings from Sale to Preston Brook at risk of serious damage.
I've checked the canals website.. www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk but there is no mention of the breach.
I will be visiting the moorings again tommorow night and also wednesday, and no doubt I'll find out more so I'll keep you all posted.