THE birth of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was one of the most important moments in East Lancashire's history.

It meant tonnes and tonnes of goods were able to be collected at Liverpool's docks and sent up to Lancashire in a matter of days by barge.

Canal pulled horses could pull a hundred times their own bodyweight in cargo on a boat, way more than on a cart.

This benefitted East Lancashire massively, meaning production could be turned over at a faster rate and businesses and canal communities flourished

The East Lancashire section of the canal was completed during the second phase in 1789.

Engineer Robert Whitworth developed plans to vary the line of the remaining part of the canal, including the well-known Foulridge Tunnel - which is the longest tunnel open to canoes.

The canal was beaten in crossing the Pennines by the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Rochdale Canal, however this was a much bigger operation.

After it was completed almost 50 years after the first spades hit the ground, its main cargo was coal.

Millions of tonnes a year were delivered to Liverpool in the 1860s.

Even in Yorkshire, more coal was carried than limestone.

The industrial towns in its path, along with the decision to build the canal with broad locks, ensured it had the edge over its rival trans-Pennine canals and was able to compete with the railways throughout the 19th and 20th century.