The mood in Gargrave was sombre today as the close-knit community came to terms with the worst boating accident in its history.

News of the four people who drowned at Stegneck Lock on the Gargrave Flight of locks spread quickly.

Many found out about the accident from friends and relatives who had been at the scene or simply stumbled across the stranded vessels while walking along the towpath.

The Rev Martin Ball, vicar at St Andrew's Church, rushed to the scene as soon as he found out, to comfort the survivors in the Anchor Inn.

He said: "It was very calm and there were no hysterics from either the survivors or the family who were on the other barge. I sat and prayed with them and I think everyone in Gargrave will be doing the same."

The Rev Adrian Botwright, of The Rectory, Rectory Lane, Skipton, also offered support. He said: "It is a terrible tragedy. It has left everyone in a state of shock and disbelief. Yet somehow in the depths of all this, much love and care has welled up." Skipton County Councillor Robert Heseltine, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said if anything could be learned from the tragedy to improve safety, then he would be calling upon the authorities to do so.

And the Mayor of Skipton, Paul Whitaker, added: "It was a terrible day and we would all like to know why it happened."

Butcher Denns Ellison, 58, who has run a shop in Gargrave for 32 years, said: "It's a tragic day. I don't think we've ever had any deaths in this part at all.

"The first lock on the flights is usually the real problem. Holidaymakers open the gate paddles and fill their boats up with water and they start to sink but nothing serious comes of it, they just get off."

Regulars at the Mason's Arms were equally subdued last night. Landlord Gordon Curry said: "Everyone who came in said how terrible it was. We get so many barges coming through here with thousands of holiday makers and they bring a lot of trade.

"We have had barges sink in the past but it's never been as bad as this." And villager Dave Fisher, 49, added: "I don't think people have enough training before they go out on the barges. Personally I think they should be given should be given much more training before they are allowed out." Lock keeper Donald Pearson looked after the Gargrave Flight, a series of six locks, until he retired in 1991.

It was the worst accident he had ever known. He added: "I've come across boats that have sunk in that lock but not with any loss of life." He said it was normal for two to go down a lock at a time.

Weeping staff face up to their grief

Weeping staff at the Mill Lane day centre, Barrow, were trying to carry on life as normal today as friends of those who died in the lock tragedy arrived.

Staff had been given details of the accident by Mike Siegal, Cumbria County Council's director of social services, and they then had the distressing task of telling the disabled users of the centre what had happened.

Mr Siegal said: "Everyone is very deeply distressed but we are trying to carry on as normal. The people who use the centre will be told what has happened, some in groups and some one-to-one.

"First and foremost everyone is very badly and very deeply shocked over what was quite clearly a tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the families of those who died and with those on holiday and with the staff.

"The four staff were not just carers, they were also friends because this centre is a very close community. The staff on the boat are absolutely devastated. They did everything they could to save the victims and put their own lives at risk.

"I will be speaking personally to the staff and the families of the victims."

Councillor Anne Burns, chairman of the county's social services committee, was also at the centre, comforting staff and users.

She said: "It's absolutely tragic and I am here to try to support the families and the people at the Centre.

"This is a very close-knit community and I know everyone is stunned by what happened.

"The whole community of Walney, as well as the rest of Barrow, has taken it to heart and is feeling shocked by the tragedy."

The four who died had been using the centre for a number of years and the staff with them had been on canal holidays before.

County council spokesman Brian Haugh said: "They were experienced in dealing with locks and this was likely to have been one of many they had been through that day."

He asked for people to respect the privacy of those who work at, and use, the centre.

Fears on boat handling

The tragedy was an accident waiting to happen, according to an experienced boatman who has been cruising the canals for 30 years.

Peter Hatherell, of Bingley-based Airedale Boat Club, does not believe many people who hire canal boats receive adequate training.

He said he frequently had to offer emergency advice to struggling trippers he meets while out on his 46-ft narrow boat.

"I know that lock - I was in it myself last week," he said. "I have been involved in the canals for 30 years and I can recall this happening several times, although not at Gargrave before.

"I don't think people who take hire boats out get enough tuition on locks. There's many a time I have been cruising in that area and we have had hire boats come along with people who haven't got a clue about the locks.

"This has happened to me before. I have been hooked up in a lock, but I know what to look out for."

John Eddison, of Skipton-based Pennine Cruisers, said: "If accidents happen, they tend to be in a lock."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.