Lindow Moss: Calls for investigation into sinking Cheshire bog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35168899

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Land around the Cheshire resting place of Lindow Man is sinking due to continued peat extraction at the ancient bog, residents have claimed.

The Iron Age body was found in Lindow Moss near Wilmslow in 1984, having been preserved in peat for 2,000 years.

Residents want an investigation into what caused land surrounding the bog to fall by 1.6ft (0.5m) in five years.

Peat extraction firm Croghan Peat Ltd has denied it is to blame, citing a lack of rainfall for the subsidence.

'Massive subsidence'

It was the actions of a peat cutter 30 years ago that led to the discovery of Lindow Man, one of the best preserved Iron Age bog bodies to be found in the UK.

But local residents claim the scale of local peat extraction has ruined the landscape and lowered the water table, contributing to the sinking ground.

"The scene at present looks like a battlefield," said resident Tony Evans.

"There's a huge drawdown effect from the water. It's causing massive subsidence to the east of the site.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking to see it now compared to how it was 15 years ago."

Lindow Man's 'gruesome death'

Source: British Museum

The owners of Newgate Kennels & Cattery next to Lindow Moss have spent £20,000 repairing damage caused to their buildings as a result of the subsidence.

Managing director Joel Millet said: "Dogs can actually walk under the building so we've had to put metal skirting round the outside.

"We've had to re-do all the drains, and the electrics and water have been pulled down by the ground.

"There's no point in us doing any permanent restoration because it is ongoing."

Mr Millet and a residents' group want the Environment Agency and Cheshire East Council to investigate the cause of the ground sinking.

The Environment Agency said it "does not have any regulatory controls to monitor peat extraction activity".

Cheshire East Council said it will "look at ways to address the issue of subsidence in any future applications on the site".