Continuous moorer faces £76,000 loss

AN OUT of work boater who lived in an unlicenced narrowboat faces having to pay £76,000 after a drawn-out legal dispute.

George Ward had his unlicenced boat boat on the Kennet & Avon Canal, cruising between Caen Hill Flight and Dundas Aqueduct, and was served a Section 8 notice by Canal & River Trust (CaRT).

Sold the boat

Bristol Crown Court granted the Section, giving CaRT permission to remove the boat from the water. But then George sold the boat, so the Section 8 was cancelled.

He then bought another narrowboat that needed a deal of repair work, but such was its condition he could not obtain a Boat Safety Certificate, so it remained unlicenced and without insurance, and the legalities continued.

Four years

The legal dispute had gone on for four years, and at one time he had attempted to licence two boats, but not having the required documents, the cheques were returned.

George has not worked since 1996, having lost the vision in one eye, and is living on incapacity benefit and disability living allowance of £102 per week, and remarks:

"It is harassment. They won't succeed, except over my dead body."

However, a spokesman for CaRT explains:

Encouraged him

"We have encouraged him to abide by the terms and conditions of a licence. In the end we had to escalate proceedings and ask a judge to make an independent judgment about the removal of his boat from our waterways. This isn't a decision that we take lightly and only comes after other avenues have been exhausted."

It is stated that the judge found that enforcement actions were proportionate.

The £76,000 is the sum of the judgment that is being sought to recover the extensive costs.