An appeal to help rebuild the Lichfield Canal has been boosted by a donation from across the Atlantic.
A couple from Pennsylvania, USA, have had their name etched onto part of the canal as part of the Falkland Road Piling Appeal.
The initiative is part of the work to create a diversion of the original canal route past the historic Sandfields Waterworks.
To help fund the scheme, people can have their names put on a tag attached to steel piling.
One of the tags will now include the phrase “Sarah loves Aaron” after the donation arrived from Sarah Webber, who lives in Doylestown in America.
“A couple months ago my boyfriend, Aaron, started watching David Johns’ Cruising the Cut YouTube channel.
“At first I didn’t pay the videos much attention but then I really got into them.
“Aaron and I are two decades away from retiring but a life on a narrow boat is fun to talk and dream about.
“Neither of us knew about the canal system in England much less the narrow boat community, but I find the engineering of the canals and locks fascinating.
“I learned about the work your trust is doing thanks to one of David’s videos and that led me to the trust website where I saw the option to sponsor a piling and thought it would be a fun gift for Aaron.
“Our two year dating anniversary is coming up in a few weeks and I thought I’d give it to him then.
“Perhaps someday we’ll be able to cruise the cut and find our piling.”
Sarah Webber
People can find out more about donating to the restoration project and adding their tag via the trust’s website.
