A BOATER has claimed that he is a prisoner on his narrowboat as it is stuck in the mud at Horninglow Basin on the Trent & Mersey Canal.
Chris Brown complained to the local newspaper that he is a prisoner on his boat at the basin at Burton as it is stuck in two inches of mud surrounded by rubbish, Alan Tilbury reports.
Could not be moved
Undergoing an operation to have a tumour removed, he has lived away from his boat for a few years, but on returning recently he discovered the boat was grounded at its moorings and could not be moved.
He wanted to cruise during the summer and return to the basin for the winter, telling Burton Mail:
Cruising all summer
"We have been on the boat for a good seven years and I love that lifestyle. We have been to Horninglow Basin before and we tend to go out cruising all summer and come back during the winter.
"We came back about a month ago and struggled to get on the moorings because it was covered in filth and rubbish and we literally got stuck in the mud. But I need to be here, near to the electric, my doctors and my family. In 2014 I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer which has now spread. I have just had a brain tumour removed so this is the last thing I need."
Called for a clean-up
He has called for a clean-up of Horninglow Basin that he maintains is full of rubbish, and wants to get out not be stuck there, and is fearful if he does get out he would not be able to get his boat back in to the amenities of electricity and water that he needs.
Canal & River Trust has offered to drag his boat off the mud and relocate it to a different berth in the basin.