TESCO supermarket employed a hit squad, supervised by British Waterways workers, to retrieve more than 60 trolleys dumped in the canal alongside Kidderminster's prestigious Weavers Wharf shopping development.

The recovery work was sparked by the Shuttle/Times and News which, last week, reported passer-by, Bob Lloyd, had counted 217 dumped trolleys in the Staffs and Worcestershire canal.

The supermarket hired a trolley collection company, which worked with the British Waterways staff to haul out the trolleys using a boat, grappling hooks and ropes.

About 30 of those recovered were from Tesco, about 10 from Sainsbury's further up the canal at Crossley Park and the rest had been in the water for so long they could not be identified.

A number of trolleys that were within easy reach had already been removed before Saturday's trawl and British Waterways spokeswoman, Vicky Blower, said most of the trolleys had now been cleared from the canal.

She added British Waterways staff had supervised the recovery of the sunken trolleys because it was dangerous work.

A few could not be retrieved, either because they ran out of time, or because their baskets were so full of silt they were stuck at the bottom of the canal.

"The main thing is they are not causing a hazard to boats and they will be retrieved the next time we are doing work in the area, which means we can lower the water level," said Miss Blower.

British Waterways is now negotiating with Tesco in a bid to reclaim its costs for the operation.

"We are looking for a long-term solution to what is a national problem - to persuade supermarkets and DIY stores to secure their trolleys so they cannot end up in the canals in the first place and to get a national agreement that they will cover our costs if we have to recover dumped trolleys," explained Miss Blower.

"At least we have now got a supermarket interested."