A CANAL boater has been made homeless after his narrowboat was wrecked by a group of drunken revellers speeding in two hire boats.

George Ward, 57, was forced to abandon his 70-foot narrowboat, the Celtic, in the early hours of Saturday morning when it started to sink.

The boat had been swamped on Friday evening by the wash from hire boats chartered by a group of men at Hilperton Marina who were going too fast.

The incident happened on the Kennet & Avon Canal between Bradford on Avon and Avoncliff near to Smelly Bridge.

George said: “I woke up to find one metre of water in the cabin and it was coming over my bed.

“I found myself some clothes and tried to get out of the stern hatch, but the planks had come off the floor and had blocked the entrance.

“I was forced to paddle to the front and climb out of the hatch.

“Fortunately, a man came by on an electric bike and he helped me to secure the boat to some trees.”

George, who has lived on the 90-year-old narrowboat since 2011, had earlier remonstrated with the revellers for going too fast.

“The men were going as fast as they could go.

“When I spoke to them and started filming them on my mobile phone they gave me a load of verbal abuse.”

Members of the It is understood the group hired two 70-feet narrowboats, the Snowy Owl, which sleeps 10, and the Whistling Swan, which sleeps 12, for a return trip to Bath.

Police received one complaint about their behaviour at 7.30pm on Friday from someone they had abused near the Tithe Barn.canal community saw the group crashing the hire boats into each other, the canal banks and other boats.

The men also verbally abused passers by and members of the boating community who shouted at them to slow down.

Dru Marland, 60, said: “The men were all drunk and shouting very loudly. I saw them come speeding around the corner and hit the canal bank.

“The shock of the wash they created must have damaged the hull of George’s boat. It’s in a fair old state, but he has managed to keep it afloat until now.”

Mr Ward’s friend, Laura Darling, said she had been verbally abused by some of the men after telling them off for speeding and crashing into other boats on the canal.

She called the hire boat company, ABC Boat Hire of Alvechurch in Worcestershire, to complain about their behaviour.

Ms Darling added: “Due to some verbally aggressive youngsters who were speeding on hire boats this weekend his boat is now sinking. This is his home and if the community can’t manage to re-float it, he will be homeless.

“If people do manage to re-float his boat it will need some cash injected to make it habitable again for him. At this rate, perhaps even a new boat.”

She added: “The worst part is that George is homeless. I feel gutted for him and I can’t imagine how he must feel today.

“He is safe, he has a bed tonight, food and new clothes (thanks to one amazing lady) a team of boaters who tried to re-float his boat with pumps and gennies but to no avail unfortunately.”

A Justgiving appeal to help Mr Ward has already raised over £7,475 from more than 400 supporters.

Haley Hadley, marketing and sales director of ABC Leisure Group Ltd, which owns ABC Boat Hire, said they cancelled the group’s hire contract at 6.15pm on Saturday after receiving several complaints about their behaviour.

She said: “The group of hirers involved were provided with clear instruction and signed our conditions of hire.

“As part of the handover process the group viewed an instructional video and then spent time receiving clear and concise instruction regarding the route and specifically covering what they could and could not do on the canal.

“This included emphasising the importance of maintaining responsible speeds, being courteous to fellow waterway users, and the general level of behaviour we expect from our customers.

“ABC Boat Hire was first contacted on Friday evening by a boater at Bradford on Avon, informing us that two ABC Boat Hire narrowboats were exceeding acceptable speeds.

“Overnight there was an additional voicemail left, notifying us that the boats were again travelling too fast.

“In line with ABC Boat Hire policy, the two captains were contacted and warned to slow down. They apologised and said they would do so.

“Unfortunately, during Saturday, additional calls were received. The two captains were again contacted and told that if there were any further incidents or complaints, they would be removed from the boats.“ABC Boat Hire took the decision to cancel the hire and the group were removed from the boats on Saturday at 6.15pm.

“As a passionate member of the waterways community, the entire ABC Boat Hire team is deeply saddened by the actions of our customers over the weekend.”

Efforts to re-float George’s boat are continuing but he needs help, equipment and tools. To donate go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/georgekanda