Another boater prosecution

FOLLOWING on from four successful prosecutions by the Environment Agency  in May, another owner of an unregistered boat has paid the price, writes Roger Fox.

Ian McClean from West Wycombe was found guilty at Wycombe Magistrates' Court of keeping his boat Mendlekins in Bourne End Marina on the Thames without a valid registration.

£487.92 in total

Ian McClean did not appear in court, and the case was proved in his absence. He was ordered to pay his 2011 registration fee of £187.92 and costs of £85 to us, and a fine of £200 and a victim surcharge of £15 to the court—£487.92 in total.

A bankside patrol carried out by Paul Barnes, Jim Overy and Tony Foster saw 21 unregistered boats served with enforcement notices, with the owners having a maximum of 21 days from the date of the notice to pay their registration fee before the Agency initiate legal proceedings, with a spokesman relating:

"We work extremely hard to ensure that everyone who keeps or uses a boat on the non-tidal Thames makes the appropriate financial contribution through their registration fee. With 20,000 boats navigating the river each year, it takes some time for us to check every one. But this is our aim, and this year we have trained a number of lock keepers to warrant status to give us extra capacity."

"We understand the frustration of responsible boaters when they pass boats that are not displaying a valid registration plate. But if a boat is not registered, the likelihood is that we are taking some form of enforcement action against it and the owner will pay in due course, even if it needs to be as the result of a prosecution."