More or Less on Radio 4 did a segment on this the other week. Aparently, there's been

circa 1,500 deaths in waterways in the UK in the last five years - that's all deaths, whether it's murders, accidents, suicides. Given Greater Manchester's population of just over 2 million, you'd expect that area to contribute about 60 of that 1,500 total.

The number they've actually had in the last five years is 61.

That's not to say that there isn't something funny going on - there are loads of families in Gt Mancs that are seriously unhappy with the way the police investigated a canal death - but the numbers alone don't strongly suggest it.

Posted By: Arizona Bay, Feb 5, 14:39:15