Comedian gives voice to canal safety

COMEDIAN Dave Spikey has created a comic commentary for boaters on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The Lancashire-born actor provided the voiceover and script for Skipton-based Pennine Boat Trips after being approached by proprietor Nick Osborn.

Mr Osborn recognised that some customers switched off during on-board safety commentaries and he wanted to keep their interest with a comic but educational script.

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“We believe this could be the first canal tour in the UK to have some humour included in the commentary.

“We wrote the bulk of the script then sent it to Dave to ‘Spike it up’ and the result is brilliant. It’s a cruise that will have you in stitches.”

Spikey recorded the commentary at the local college in Skipton and it turns out he is a big fan of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, choosing it as his specialist subject on Celebrity Mastermind in 2009.

The commentary, which will start in the spring, will cover all aspects of the inland waterway systems, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, history of Skipton town centre, the mills, and other attractions.

Spikey, 60, currently living in Chorley, Lancashire, said he enjoyed canals because of their mix of “industrial heritage and countryside”.

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