Man who worked draining Manchester’s canals reveals grimmest things he found

We spoke with a man who worked draining our city’s canals, as he shared some interesting photos and stories about his work.

Mike Sheldon lives in East Manchester and is retired now, but he used to work for British Waterways where he said he had the time of his life – and would even call it the best job he has ever had.

“There was something to do every day,” he told Proper Manchester.

He worked for the company for 15 years, where he maintained the canals along with his brother Shaun.

As you can expect, Mike and Shaun discovered many strange and unusual things lurking at the bottom of our inner city canals, including some pretty grim and sad discoveries. 

Shaun sadly passed away from throat cancer five years ago, as Mike spoke of the great fun they had working together maintaining the canals and how he misses their time together.

Here’s what he said…

About the work he carried out, Mike explained: “It was just general maintenance. Everything really; painting, replacing lock gates, anything and everything.”

He continued: “When we would work, especially Deansgate Locks and Canal Street, we’d find all sorts like handbags, designer bags, keys, bank cards, phones, driving licences, laptops – you name it we found it.”

When Mike and Shaun would drain the canals, a lot of the time they would often find tables and chairs and ‘all sorts of scrap’. 

“I think at the end of the night, after a few drinks, customers would think ‘what can I throw over these fences?’ And they’d be throwing over tables and chairs,” he said.

In one picture (at the top of the page) the pair set up a table and tea party scene out of some of their finds, as they waded through the murky silt and laughed at the assortment of items they would come across.

About the photograph, Mike went on: “That is a picture of my brother who was working with me. 

“We put it on Facebook because we thought it was quite funny but [work] called us in the office to say they didn’t want it on there, they didn’t want anyone to see it. 

“But it was a bit too late by then because everyone would have already seen it.”

Other things the brothers would find were designer handbags, jewellery and even engagement rings, as Mike joked about couples having a row.

But the brothers also sometimes stumbled across guns that had been slung into the canals.

“We’d hand them in at the police station,” Mike said. “But we didn’t like going because whenever we handed one in we felt like they’d treat us like a criminal.”

One time, the pair even came across an inflatable penis, which they tied to their boat and got many laughs and cheers from revellers outside the rows of bars as they passed by.

As Mike puts it, ‘we found a massive big cock and balls’ – they also found plenty of other funny phallic objects and adult toys over the years too.

But the worst discoveries the brothers made while draining the canals were dead bodies. Mike said he discovered a few bodies lying at the bottom of the water in the 15 years he worked maintaining the waterways.

Mike said: “There was a thing about a pusher; someone pushing people into the canals, but I think it’s all rubbish.” 

He said he thinks a number of people fall in the canals in central Manchester because they are lined with bars where lots of people will have been on a night out and drinking, then hanging around outside or using the canal paths to walk home.

“Sometimes people were captured on CCTV walking along and stumbling,” he added, saying that all the bodies were identified ‘straight away’. 

“There was one lad from Newcastle and he was only young, god bless. I think it was the coldest day I ever worked and we were working alongside police divers.

“I had to drain it [the canal] for them because it was too cold for them to dive in that. I drained it down so far for them and they were linking each other as they walked through the sludge.”

Mike and Shaun each took something home from their time cleaning up our waterways. Mike found a Casio watch that he kept, as he said: “I mean, I’ve got a watch –  which was still working when I found it after being under the water.

“I love it, it still works now. It’s a Casio and one of the best watches I’ve ever had. I’ve only had to take it to replace a battery. When the guy replaced it he said ‘it’s soaking wet’.

“I said, ‘believe it or not, I got this out of a canal’ and he just couldn’t believe it.”

Meanwhile, Shaun found a puppy which he brought home and named Willow. “We drained a lock and there was a puppy dog in a bag, but it was alive. Someone had thrown it in. We pulled it out and my brother kept that dog.”

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