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The Parcelforce Worldwide van was spotted by walkers on Saturday, October 25. It had run into trouble near lock 62, near Middleton and Chadderton.
Images submitted to The Oldham Times, and others circulating on social media, show the van on the narrow path with the two left-hand side wheels hanging over the edge of the water.
John Edwards, who witnessed the incident and posted about it on Facebook, said that he asked two Parcelforce workers “surveying the situation” if the van had been stolen. They explained that the driver had been following his sat nav.
Someone else has commented on the post saying: “Can’t park there, mate.”
Another image of the van has been shared in the Rochdale Canal Group on Facebook, attracting even more comments.
Lorraine Dane Nolan said she was “baffled” by the sight, adding: “We saw this yesterday on our walk along the canal to Manchester. We wondered how and where did this van get on the canal? I’m dying to know ?”
Laura Illingworth said: “Spoke to the driver he was following his sat nav, think he thought he was on the lane that runs past the cottages and heading for the bridge across the canal.”
David Wainwright said: “Oopsy. Never trust a sat nav!”
Peter Dunn said: “That’s impressive, not in a good way but still impressive.
Parcelforce is part of the Royal Mail Group, which has confirmed to The Oldham Times that the mishap was due to a problem with the sat nav.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident involving a Parcelforce Worldwide delivery vehicle where one of our drivers was directed onto an unsuitable route while following satellite navigation guidance in the Chadderton Park area, becoming stuck.
“We will be investigating the incident to understand how this occurred and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
