Rubbish and litter blocks the waterways of a canal in east London. Algae and household pollution lies on the surface of the waters dug by navvies of the Victorian era when canals around Britain helped supply the industrial revolution with the raw ingredients to power the furnaces, mills and wharves of the transport age. This is a section of the River Neckinger that once flowed from south London into the Thames at Bermindsey but during the redevelopment of the warves into expensive riverside apartments, the waters were once again freed from 20th century dereliction.