THE closure of a nine-mile section of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Gargrave is going to have a huge impact on canal cruises.

British Waterways is blaming the lowest rainfall in 70 years for its decision to close the canal between Gargrave and Greenberfield, Barnoldswick, from today (Friday).

It is 10 years since the same section was last out of bounds to canal cruisers and narrowboats.

Zoe Clarke, of Pennine Cruisers in Coach Street, Skipton, said the decision was going to have a huge impact on her business.

"A lot of our hire boats prefer to go out towards Gargrave because it is very rural. This means people will have to go in the other direction towards Leeds, which isn't quite as rural."

She added: "People hiring for more than a weekend, who can't go towards Gargrave, could possibly cancel."

Cancellations would mean a significant loss of business for the company, which has six hire boats.

"It is still high season for us and nearly all the boats are booked between now and October. We will have to speak to our customers and tell them of the situation and they might cancel," she added.

Clare Jones, manager at The Anchor Inn which sits alongside the canal in Gargrave, said she was keeping her fingers crossed that the closure wouldn't have much effect.

"We have had a brilliant summer fortunately, although we do get a lot of trade from the boats passing on the canal, we also have a lot of walkers and regulars. Hopefully we won't be as affected by it as we would have been earlier in the season," she added.

Janet Whipp, who runs the Lock Stock Caf at Greenberfield Lock said she wasn't expecting to be affected a great deal by the closure.

She said: "I get a lot of visitors who drive their cars and park up and then take a walk down to the canal, so I don't think it will affect me a great deal.

"It's getting to the end of the season so I think I shouldn't be too badly affected by it," she added.

A British Waterways spokesman said the decision had been made because of the low level of Winterburn reservoir, near Skipton, which feeds the canal and was a compensation source for other waterways in the area.

The closure would remain in operation until a rise in water levels.

Laurence Morgan, British Waterways general manager, said: "We have been monitoring the situation very closely for the past few weeks and despite our best efforts there has been no improvement in the water stocks.

"This part of the country has only had 58 per cent of the average rainfall over the past four months - the driest since 1933 - as well as low rainfall over the winter."

The rest of the Leeds-Liverpool canal remains open and customers can use alternative routes via the Huddersfield Narrow or Bridgewater Canals.

Mr Morgan added: "We are in contact with hire boat operators regarding the situation to ensure that they can continue to run their businesses efficiently."