"I'm a plonker!" says boater

A BOATER who took his narrowboat out in flood conditions and had it jammed against a bridge described himself as a 'plonker'!

It took 20 firefighters to free Andrew Furnival's  boat after he had  crashed it sideways on to an  arch of the Nene bridge at Irthlingborough on Sunday. It even needed a specialist water rescue team to help free the boat, as it was held by the sheer force of water in the flood conditions.

Five fire crews attended the scene, and it took three hours to free the 65ft narrowboat from against one of the smaller arches that are not for navigation, Andrew describing himself to the fire people as a 'plonker'.

He took his boat on the river against Environment Agency advice not to use the Nene because of the strong current, and officers from the agency are to interview him.

It needed a 4x4 vehicle's winch on one bank, the firefighters pulling from an island and the boat's engine to get it lined up to the navigation arch and through it.

Many watchers told how silly the boater was taking his narrowboat out in such conditions.