A BID to clean up one of Burnley’s most recognisable waterways has been backed by the town’s MP.

The initiative comes as renewed efforts to rejuvenate the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal are unveiled by developers.

Kitty Ussher rolled up her sleeves to join volunteers to spruce up the banks of the canal at Finsley Wharf.

The MP got involved after being told of the fly-tipping, litter and dog fouling problems on towpaths and the surrounding bushes.

She said: “This is a really good initiative as I have often thought that this is an area of Burnley, which has great potential.

“There were around 30 volunteers, which was a good turnout."

Talks between council staff and officials at British Waterways over the past few months prompted the action.

Meanwhile two fresh bids to convert former mills, on the water’s edge, have taken shape this week. The first phase of the scheme for the former Livingstone Mill, in Elm Street, submitted by Abdul Ghafoor, will see 12 homes built along the canal frontage.

Planning agent Barry Tang said: “The proposed new buildings are modern and are designed to complement surrounding buildings, whicjh will draw on the character of the area.”

Mr Ghafoor is also behind a second and third phase, which could see a further 26 homes erected on the mill land. Proposals to revive the fortunes of the Weavers Triangle, along one of the canal’s most prominent stretches, are in abeyance due to the credit crunch however.

Launching the canal clean-up campaign, Coun Charlie Briggs, the borough council’s community safety executive member, said the waterway was a “major asset for the borough and should be respected”.

This weekend the initiative, which began in the Daneshouse and Stoneyholme areas, will move to Gannow, and the project will eventually see the route revamped right up to Rosegrove.