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Tales from the Tow Path

24/ 7/2002

IT SEEMS the canal bears the handiwork of Britain's greatest mass murderer, but the picturesque Long Lees Lock near Littleborough seems an unlikely place to find it.

One of the volunteers during a clean-up effort in 1974 was Harold Shipman, the Hyde doctor who is believed to have killed hundreds of his patients. According to those who helped, the Todmorden doctor is a former member of Rochdale Canal Society and helped with the recovery of the old lock gates while his wife, Primrose, made tea for the thirsty workers.

Unbeknownst to his fellow labourers, at the time he was allegedly stealing prescription drugs and may have already begun his killings. Back then, no-one would have guessed the quiet canal enthusiast was hiding such a murderous secret.

A deserted towpath is a place where someone can go without being disturbed and passers-by often found lonely suicide victims. But it's not just the depressed who would seek a spot of solitude.

The Observer reported that a man out shooting rats at 2am fired at some rustling bushes. Suddenly a man jumped out from where he had been with his girlfriend, bearing a nasty pellet wound.

And retribution was swift, as the injured man picked up the gun his assailant had dropped in surprise and hit him over the head with it. Both ended up in hospital, the shooter later receiving a suspended prison sentence.

It also seems that whatever the canal brought to the doorstep, some were less willing to accept it than others.

Canal campaigner Keith Parry's father was a Lancashire Police constable during the last war. While patrolling the county border he spotted a body floating in the canal, just upstream from Rochdale. He reported the grisly find and returned with his sergeant, who decided to "pass on" responsibility.

With some difficulty, they pushed the bloated corpse through the bridge so it became the responsibility of the Rochdale Police. But the following day, Keith's father found the same body back on the Lancashire side, having mysteriously floated upstream.

Attached to it was a note from the Rochdale Police, which said simply "Naughty, naughty".

• YOU can read the full Harold Shipman story by visiting our sister site at http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/shipman/