Canal trust's bid to evict boater ends in nine-hour standoff

George Ward - who said last month he would rather set fire to his boats armed with a garden fork than move them -  is locked in a dispute with the Canal & River Trust.

The charity suffered a temporary setback when its bid to remove the 62-year-old from his unlicensed 50ft workboat the March Hare ended in a stalemate on Wednesday.

RECAP: Armed police at 10-hour standoff as CRT tries to evict boater

They removed his second heritage workboat, the 70ft The Celtic, without his permission and pushed it along the canal to the Bradford on Avon Marina where a crane was waiting to lift it out of the water.

Security operatives working for the Canal & River Trust turn up to evict George Ward from his canal boat early on Wednesday. Photo: Trevor Porter 69769-1 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Mr Ward spend all day locked in his cabin but at 5.30pm emerged to declare he had agreed to move his boat further along the canal - and revealed plans to take it 200 miles away to Lincoln Brayford Pool.

But yesterday morning he told the Wiltshire Times he wouldn't be going anywhere and was demanding the return of his "stolen property" – referring to the Celtic – saying he "wouldn't be bullied".

Matthew Aymes, the CRT’s national boating customer services manager, along with the Trust’s solicitor Lucy Barry, had relied on a court order dated January 23 to remove Mr Ward’s two boats.

They turned up at Mr Ward’s mooring near Bradford on Avon with 13 CRT staff and security operatives.

George Ward holed up inside his canal boat and refusing to leave. Photo: Laura Darling (Image: Freelancer)

The Celtic's fate awaited the March Hare, where Mr Ward, who is physically disabled and has mental health issues, had locked himself in his cabin and had refused to leave.
While a small but vocal group of canal boat community supporters gathered on the towpath, the CRT  managers tried to prise Mr Ward from his cabin with threats of fines, arrest and potential imprisonment.

Canal boat expert, Tony Dunkley, from Nottingham, texted to say the Trust were “exceeding” their powers and had no authority to threaten fines, imprisonment, or to seize his boats.

Police, security and Canal & River Trust officials discuss their next move. Photo: Trevor Porter 69769 -10 (Image: Trevor Porter)

He said: “C&RT do have lawful/legitimate means to deal with problems such as George and his boats but choose to go about it illegally/unlawfully by misusing and abusing other inappropriate statutory powers given to their predecessors [BWB] for an entirely different purpose.”

Mr Aymes left, saying: “We are exploring one more option. It’s up to him to make the most of it.” 

As one supporter, Laura Darling, said: “It’s not over yet. We have lots of work to do to find George a permanent mooring.”