THE Canal and River Trust is looking for more volunteers to ‘Join the Daves’ and become lock keepers of Cheshire canals.

The campaign got its name because ‘Dave’ is the most common name of the trust’s volunteers.

Jason Watts, volunteer development coordinator at Canal & River Trust, said: “The nation’s canal and rivers go through such a diversity of cities, towns and villages and this is reflected in our volunteers.

“We’ve people from an amazing array of communities and backgrounds, so it was quite interesting to see such an abundance of ‘Dave’s volunteering with us.

“Of course, we’d love to continue to welcome dedicated ‘Dave’s and brilliant ‘Barbara’s to our volunteering teams in Cheshire.

“But we would really like them to be joined by new names and faces so that we can do even more in 2019 to ensure the county’s canals are havens for people and wildlife.”

Key qualities sought in a volunteer are enthusiasm, a friendly manner, a hands-on approach and a willingness to learn. Training will take place in spring and volunteers will be in post from April to October.

Jason added: “We value each and every one of our volunteers and appreciate everything they do to help look after our historic waterways.

“In return we do all we can to ensure they have opportunities to learn new skills and meet new people in a friendly and supportive environment.

“We believe that anything you do to spend more time by water is good for your mental and physical wellbeing, so that’s an extra benefit for everyone.”

To apply for a volunteer lock keeper role in Cheshire or to find out more, visit: canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteer/opportunities