A NARROWBOAT sunk in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal has been recovered.

Dawn Samples was left homeless after she discovered her Riley Green moored canal barge, affectionately named 'Sally Cinnamon', had sunk to the bottom of the waterway.

Friends of the 32-year-old, who was unable to afford to pay to lift the barge from the canal bed, set up a £30,000 Crowdfunding page.

But as the narrowboat was causing a 'hazard' to other canal uses the Canal and Rivers Trust stepped in.

Yesterday, the fundraising total stood at £4,850.

A spokesperson from the Canal & River Trust said: “We have worked with the owner to recover the boat.

"She has covered the cost of that operation and the boat is now safely moored in a marina close by.

"The owner only had insurance and a boating licence to cover private use of her boat.

"As soon as she decided to rent out her boat, this became a commercial operation requiring a different level of insurance and a business boating licence.”

Speaking shortly after discovering the boat had sank, Ms Samples who now plans to temporarily move in with her partner on a nearby narrowboat, said: "I couldn't believe it.

"I was expecting to find it back at the marina with a bit of water in it, but she was totally underwater.

"Everyone has been amazing, the people who own the marina have been working 14 hour days to help me."

It was while Ms Samples attempted to raise the sunken barge that she discovered the weed hatch had been mistakenly left open, which had allowed water to flood into the engine.

Ms Samples had temporary third-party insurance while some welding was being completed on the boat. This will not cover the cost of recovering the barge.