PLANS to sell Fiddler's Ferry Power Station could leave boat owners high and dry.

PowerGen PLC, who own the Penketh power station, has informed council chiefs they intend to dispose of the site by the end of April. The power station has always supplied water for the stretch of the Sankey St Helens canal, between Fiddler's Ferry Yacht Haven and Spike Island Marina in Widnes, on a goodwill basis.

But there are fears that the new owners will not continue the gentleman's agreement leaving the council facing a huge water bill or a dried up lock.

A spokesman for the council said it was hopeful that the agreement could be continued: "It was agreed at a meeting of the Leisure Sub Committee that the Director of Community Services would enter into negotiations with the new owners of Fiddler's Ferry but we do not know who that will be at the moment.

"We hope that the new owners will enter into the same agreement that we have had with PowerGen."

The stretch of canal, between Penketh and Widnes, needs at least a million gallons a day to keep the water levels high enough to operate the locks and avoid grounding the boats. The level drops by one foot per day when the power station stops pumping water, even when the lock is not in use.

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