A PROTEST turned into a real drag for a group of canal enthusiasts. Supporters who want the canal in Cwmbran to be restored and re-opened to connect with Newport dressed up as women to make their point.

Twenty boat owners took part in a show of strength and were watched by a crowd of bemused bystanders.

The event was themed around Rebecca and her rioting sisters.

The canal enthusiasts and boat owners staged the event over an alleged lack of investment in the Cwmbran canal by Torfaen council.

The protesters donned women's clothing in memory of the 19th-century Rebecca Riots, where men dressed as women waged a three-year campaign against tolls on turnpike roads.

Just as tolls were an obstacle on Welsh roads 150 years ago, the 21st-century 'Rebeccas' say bridges and roads are obstacles on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal today.

Visitors enjoyed stalls and boat rides, and bunting lined the canal. Placards saying Give Us the Key to Newport, Open Up the Locks, and Remember Rebecca Won were dotted around the lock.

People came from all around Gwent to enjoy the event, which went on into the night when the boats were specially illuminated.

Organiser Colin Evans, a committee member of the Goytre Boat Owners' Association, said: "Newport and Caerphilly councils are very proactive when it comes to safeguarding the future of the canal, but Torfaen council are doing next to nothing.

"Much of the canal in Cwmbran cannot be navigated. We want to see it opened all the way through the Torfaen area to connect with Newport."

British Waterways is responsible for the navigable sections of canal from Pontypool up to Brecon, but Torfaen council are responsible for the arm from Sebastopol to the border with Newport.

A spokesman for Torfaen council said: "The canal is an important feature which attracts visitors and makes it a pleasant place to live.

"The council recognises its importance and is involved in a number of projects.

"We've carried out landscape work around sections in Pontnewydd and Old Cwmbran, which have greatly improved their look."