A CAMPAIGN to breathe fresh life into one of Burnley’s best-known waterways has received another significant boost.

Eco-crusaders will learn about everything from dry-stone walling to hedge-laying as part of a £180,000 Canal and River Trust initiative along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Burnley Canal Communities Project has concentrated on improving a six-kilometre stretch from Gannow Tunnel to the old Bank Hall pit.

And those signing up for volunteering can secure qualifications from a City and Guilds certificate in chainsaw use to aboricultural recognition from the Royal Forestry Society, to St John Ambulance first aid training.

Trust enterprise manager Stephen Higham said: “The project commits us to expanding our range of volunteering opportunities.

“But with this funding we will also be able to offer training and education opportunities to participants, resulting in new skills and qualifications which will enable individuals to access the job market more easily.”

The trust will be looking to work with people who are unemployed or socially isolated, or who may have physical or mental health issues.

Alison Rowe, a Big Lottery Fund spokesman, added: “The project in Burnley will not only provide local people with interesting and useful new skills but also improve the canal corridor through the town centre.”

The waterway through Burnley and other East Lancashire towns will also benefit from a major arts initiative – Super Slow Way – which was given £2m by Arts Council England earlier this year.

Plans were also recently unveiled which could see a new marina created at a revamped Brierfield Mills.