A DISABLED man who claims a charity kicked him out of his £11.5k narrowboat home and took his belongings says they are now trying to charge him.
George Ward, 63, owned The March Hare, made by Thomas Bantock & Co in the 1880s, until its removal from the Kennet & Avon Canal in May last year.
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The 50ft boat was removed just under a month after the Canal & River Trust – who are the UK’s largest waterways charity – removed George’s historic narrowboat The Celtic on April 19.
George was finally evicted from the canal towpath near Bradford on Avon in August after a three-year battle with the Trust.
The Trust claimed he had no licences for the two boats, which George denies, saying the Trust would not allow him to relicense them.
Both boats are now languishing in a Commercial Boat Services Ltd storage yard near Chester.
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The Trust has since demanded George pay fees totalling £48,000 for their removal and the delivery charge for the return of his personal possessions.
The March Hare is now being offered for sale by Commercial Boat Services and is described as a 15-metre narrowboat with a diesel engine with a value of £11,500.
A disappointed George said: “The Canal & River Trust Ltd is responsible for demanding the prohibitive sum of £48,000 to effectively prevent my recovery of the goods.
“Furthermore, the boat appears now to be the property of CBS Ltd. It is an absolute injustice.
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“I can scrape together enough savings to pay £11,500 for The Celtic but then I am stuck with the dilemma of not having enough to take it anywhere.”
The 70-foot-long The Celtic was refloated after being swamped and sunk by the wash from a stag party hire boat in September 2018, leaving George homeless.
Supporters later rallied around and raised more than £8,000 from a crowdfunding appeal to enable Mr Ward to repair the boat.
The Celtic was removed from the canal in April.
George was forced to live in a gazebo tent for around two months after the March Hare was removed before finally being evicted from the towpath for trespass.
The CBS advertisement says: “Here we have a Bantock narrow-boat with a historic riveted iron hull with steel superstructure, it has an engine but this doesn’t look serviceable.
“The condition of the hull looks reasonable but I would describe this boat as a project requiring remedial work to the hull cabin and machinery.
“Anybody interested would be advised to come and have a look, it is available to view at our Chester yard where it is ashore.”
However, George claims the Trust’s eviction of the March Hare in May 2023 was unlawful and that they did not take account of his disabilities in refusing to grant him licences.
But a Canal & River Trust spokesperson said that they had “repeatedly tried” to iron out the problems with George and removing the boat was a “last resort”.
They told The Sun: “Taking action against a boat owner only happens after they refuse to follow the rules over a long period of time, during which the Trust has repeatedly tried to resolve the issues with them.
“Boat owners facing serious difficulties are put in touch by the Trust with support organisations as well as receiving support from our dedicated welfare officers.
“We’ve a specific process for making adjustments to our normal cruising regulations for disabled boaters.
“Whilst we do not publicly discuss the specifics, including financial details, of individual cases, it is important that boat owners make their contribution towards the cost of keeping our canals open and safe. The ageing network is facing huge financial challenges, not least with the recently announced future cuts in Government funding.
“We make sure that in all cases any decision to remove a boat that is lived on has first been independently scrutinised by a Judge.”
The Trust added that they have an equality policy that, under the Equality Act 2010, sets out their approach to making sure everyone can access and use our waterways.
A Canal & River Trust spokesperson previously said: “Unfortunately, following a long period of time liaising with the owner of two longstanding unlicensed boats on the Kennet & Avon Canal, the Trust removed the second of the unlicensed boats.
“Taking action to remove a boat from the water is upsetting and is always a last resort.
“We act within the law at all times, with the Judge considering each and every case and confirming that we are acting in accordance with our powers under s.8 of the British Waterways Act 1983.”
What are your rights?
Living on a boat can be cheaper than renting a flat or house, but there aren’t many vacant permanent moorings.
You usually need a boat licence, which cost around £500 to £1,000 per year and gives you permission to use the waterways.
You must display the licence on both sides of your boat.
You also need to pay a mooring fee if you rent a mooring.
Very few permanent residential moorings for boats are available.
Most houseboat communities may own their boats but not the moorings, and therefore have no legal right to stay.
Unlike owners of houses or apartments, houseboat owners have no security of tenure.
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Although they pay council tax, energy, water and insurance bills, they do not have the same statutory rights as other tenants.
This makes it difficult when the owners of moorings propose to increase fees or develop the site.
