Boaters resorting to wearing body cameras!

SUCH is the worry of boaters about the increasing levels of problems on the towpaths that they are now wearing body cameras!

Attacks and speeding cyclists

Many boaters are either telling or writing of the worries caused not only by the increasing attacks on the towpaths but the problems of speeding cyclists so are resorting to wearing body cameras to give themselves confidence when they leave their boats either to walk the towpaths or work locks.

Though most of the attacks usually take place away from locks with people being attacked, threatened or even pushed into the water along the towpaths, boaters have to walk the towpaths to work the locks, and all too often gangs gather by locks as the beams often provide their seating.

Gives a sense of safety

For some the answer is recording everything with a camera fastened to their bodies, giving them a sense of safety and at the same time deterring any untoward activity towards them.

The boater in the photograph told us he wears one due to the uncaring speeding cyclists on the towpaths, explaining:

"As they have no ID or any means of telling who they are I thought I would get a camera, as a lot of cyclists do, to record them for ID purposes if nothing else?

"I bought one for a friend of mine because he has a dog and she has been clipped several times by speeding cyclists! He never lets her off the lead or allows her to run around loose on the towpath which means the cyclists are getting too close for comfort!  There are various other reasons for wearing one but this is my main reason.

"A cyclist threatened me because I was wearing a camera. He thought it was unfair of me to film what he was doing although he didn't put it quite like that!  Seems it's OK for cyclists to film us, but not for us to film them!"

This particular one is available from Amazon.