Volunteers are rediscovering a former waterway which has been hidden for more than a century.

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is clearing a new section of the abandoned line which once passed between Pewsham and Derry Hill, to the east of Chippenham.

The stretch at Green Lane Farm, leased from a local landowner, is more than 760 metres long and reaches from the A4 to Pudding Brook.

Workparties had to cut their way through dense undergrowth to reveal the route used by narrowboats carrying coal, grain and other cargo in the 1800s.

Volunteers have been clearing the towpath, removing rubbish, laying hedges and planting trees, and now hope to recruit more people to support their latest project.

The charity wants to create a new amenity for the local community, similar to the stretch which has already been restored between Pewsham and Lacock to the south.

Dave Maloney is the chairman of the Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the Trust.

“When we first started work on this site it was completely impassable, and we had to use chainsaws to clear our way through the hawthorns and brambles.

“There was also a great deal of rubbish which had accumulated over the last hundred years, including rubble, glass and metal, all of which had to be carefully removed."

Workparties are normally held on two Saturdays each month. Email dave.maloney@wbct.org.uk