TRAINEE lock-keepers have been honing their skills on the River Foss.

Volunteers opened Castle Mill Lock for the Ynot narrow boat, owned by Tony Fenton, to pass by.

They are members of the Inland Waterways Association’s North Riding Branch, which has looked after Castle Mill Lock for the past three years. “Mr Fenton contacted us to say he was visiting York and would like to cruise down the Foss,” said the chairman of the branch, Tony Martin. “It gave us the opportunity to train new lock-keepers, which went very well.”

He said that when the branch took over the lock it was opened two or three times a year. That rose to ten times last year, and it is currently in operation about once a month.

“It is dependant on water levels and if there is a shortage we can’t operate it,” said Mr Martin. “But the water is well up at the moment.”