More and more people move into canal boats as pandemic spawns new lifestyles

Video report by ITV News Correspondent Stacey Foster


The heyday of our network of canals and river transport was during the industrial revolution, when thousands of people lived and worked on the waterways.

Then came the railways and gradual decline.

But, believe it or not, there are now more boats on our canals than there were back then.

There is a coronavirus explanation - doubts about foreign holidays and rethinks about life, after months of lockdown.

For some it it is just messing about on the river. For others, it's a whole new existence.