AN AUTISTIC boy celebrated becoming a teenager by spending his birthday dredging out a dilapidated canal.
Linden Murray, 13, spent his birthday last Thursday continuing his work clearing out the overgrown vegetation and rubbish from the old Elsecar Canal between Wombwell and Brampton for which he was featured in the Chronicle earlier this summer.
He has spent much of the school holidays at the spot with his granddad Barry Murray who is extremely proud of his grandson’s dedication and passion about wildlife and the environment.
“I asked Linden what would he would like to do on his birthday and he said he wanted to go and clean the canal,” said Barry, 48, of Steadfield Road, Hoyland.
“He set his alarm for 8am, as before going to the canal Linden wanted to go to Great Houghton to check on the pond up there he has been monitoring over the summer. The water level has gone down about a foot due to the hot summer we’ve had. He wanted to check on the fishes’ welfare.”
Linden has now dragged from the canal a mountain of weeds and branches, traffic cones, tyres, a fence panel, planks of wood, a toy rat, and freed two fish that had been caught up in the weeds.
“There were loads of other bits too,” said Barry. “There were loads ducks, moorhens and coots swimming about where Linden has cleared. He’s very happy because he can see he has achieved something.
“He says when he gets back to school he’d like to come and clean the canal a few times a week.”
