TONNES of aquatic weed are being removed from a canal which runs through Bury.

An environmental group is dredging fast-spreading water soldier -- technically called Stratiotes aloides -- from the disused Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal.

Ecologists from British Waterways say it is restricting water flow and hindering wildlife growth.

Work is due to last a week on a section between Radcliffe and Elton Reservoir.

The ecology team is using a two-tonne harvester to clear out a channel through the weed. It is the first time that this equipment has been used on the canal.

A conveyor belt at the front of the boat pulls the weed out of the water before it is dropped into a holding cradle. The collection material is turned into compost.

Water Soldier, which is native to Britain, is also called the "Pineapple Plant" owing to its hard spiny leaves that can grow up to 18 inches across.

It is this large shape that causes the problem when it blocks the channel and stops aquatic animals from feeding on the surface.

British Waterways, which manages 2,000 miles of inland waterways in England, Scotland and Wales, is spending £3,000 on the environmental project. The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal is earmarked for full restoration by the end of the decade.

Jason Leach, a British Waterways ecologist, said: "This section of canal is a site of biological importance so the work we are doing is benefiting not only the canal wildlife but the ecology of the wider area.

"Once an open channel is created, submerged plants and fish will have more open water to move around in. The work will also allow anglers to fish open swims."

The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal is the last major waterway in Greater Manchester to need restoration. It climbed 11 miles from the River Irwell in Salford to Bolton with a five-mile length to Bury from Prestolee, and there were 17 locks.