Actor and adventurer Brian Blessed is fronting an appeal by the Canal and River Trust for volunteer lock keepers.

The campaign is aimed at the 13 million people who use the nation’s canals and rivers each year.

Brian Blessed is backing the appeal by the Canal and River Trust which takes over British Waterways' responsibility for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales later this year.

He said Ever since I was a child I have loved our canals and rivers, going off exploring on my bike and looking for wildlife.

They are unique places so I would urge people with a real passion for their local waterway to get involved as a volunteer lock keeper or take advantage of one of the many opportunities to support the Canal and River Trust.

They meant so much to me as a child so I think it is important we all do what we can to help protect them for our next generations to enjoy.

Lock keepers have been a fixture on the canals for hundreds of years and the role of the modern day lock keeper is to provide a polite and friendly welcome to waterway visitors, assisting Canal Boaters through the locks and helping to maintain the lock area.

Ed Moss, national volunteering manager for British Waterways commented The task of a lock keeper is arguably the most symbolic on the waterways and our trials have shown us that there is huge public interest out there for the waterways.

The waterways are a national treasure that needs looking after and our volunteers have been able to provide so many additional benefits on top of the fantastic work our own staff carry out which is really beginning to make a difference.

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