Castlefield Basin conflict

BOATERS arriving at Castlefield Basin in Manchester, very rarely stay these days, it being littered with abandoned boats and detritus with one particular boat not above sinking another!

The abandoned boats, cruisers and narrowboats, have been taken over by the homeless, with arriving boaters telling of confrontation, feeling very insecure, and quickly leaving, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Rammed cruiser

One boater in an unlicenced and unnamed black boats had his own method of control of the homeless when they took over a cruiser next to him (pictured)—he reversed his boat, applying full forward power, rammed into it and sank it!

The cruiser was left in a semi submerged state then later removed. There is confrontation around the basin, with the homeless fighting over the abandoned craft and endless rubbish strewn about.

Problems

This is causing problems to businesses, residents and visitors to the many bars, with complaints about noise, aggressive behaviour, heckling, drinking and drug taking.

Neither the council nor Peel Holdings, owners of the Bridgewater Canal, it is claimed, were either able or willing to do anything about the problem.

Vigilante justice

It seems the owner of the black narrowboat took it upon himself to administer vigilante justice, though he too is hardly a model boater, often noisy drunk and fighting.

However, though boats are now permanently scattered along Castlefield Basin, there is officially no permanent moorings, though boaters simply stay as long as the want, with all their rubbish taken away by the council.