Frenzy of boat break-ins

IT SEEMS that thieves have realised that unoccupied narrowboats are an easy target, as there really is a frenzy of break-ins at the moment, all over the system.

In the past seven days we have heard of break-ins at five different locations around the system, and in fact it is getting so 'normal', that we no longer report them all.

Market Harborough

The latest however are at the end of the Market Harborough Arm of the Grand Union Canal, with Alan Tilbury telling of three break-ins along a the stretch of waterway from the wharf.

As in other break-ins, once again the thieves took expensive electrical items, jewelry and cash, a police spokesman related.

Going on for weeks

Jane Thornley tells that there have been systematic break-ins along a stretch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal around Nelson and Burnley that have been going on for weeks, with one boat being trashed at a mooring on the waterway.

There were nine boats broken into at Yarnton and Thrupp on the Oxford Canal, three at Cosgrove on the Grand Union, an unknown number at Middlewich on the Trent & Mersey, and three separate attacks on boats at Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge on the Avon.

Man wanted

And of course the often reported thefts on various locations of the Kennet & Avon Canal, but here there seems to be the possibility of a result. A police spokesman stating that an Allen Campbell is wanted in connection with the burglaries on narrowboats  around Bathampton and Claverton.

In all the cases reported, entry has been through wooden rear doors of narrowboats secured by a simple hasp and staple padlock, that is proving no deterrent.

Yale lock

One of our contributors tells us that there was an obviously attempt at his boat, but the Yale type lock proved too much for the would-be thieves.

It does really seem time for people regularly leaving their boats unattended by the towpath to make sure they are properly secured.  We have received no reports of windows being broken to gain entry.

Update

In his column that will be published this week, Kelvin Alexander-Duggan tells us that over the past month there has been a increase in the number of boats being broken into across the East Anglia region.

So it seems thefts from boats is very widespread.