No jail for boat thief

THE thief who stole the narrowboat moored at Rickmansworth on the Grand Union Canal and caused £4,000 worth of damaged has escaped jail.

Steven Swadling was seen repainting the narrowboat he had stolen last April, in an attempt to disguise it, but its description had been circulated in narrowboatworld, with boaters on the look-out for it, reveals Alan Tilbury.

Renovated

The narrowboat Bodkin had just been renovated by its owner, but the thief made a botch job of repainting it ruining its paintwork, damaged the boat's engine and threw away  the owner's personal belongings to try and cover his tracks, the total cost amounting to over £4,000.

The owner has had little recompense, for not only did the thief escape prison, being giving a community order, but was ordered to pay compensation of only £500.

Previous convictions

Steven Swadling failed to turn up for the original hearing, that earned him 22 days in custody. He also had previous convictions.

His defence in mitigation was that he was homeless, and he thought the narrowboat was abandoned so used it to live in.