'Ceremony for the dead' boat burning

SUCH was the respect a popular boater had amongst his compatriots and relations, that in a bizarre ceremony, they remembered him as did the Vikings by setting fire to his boat whilst still on the waterway.

Boater Mark Stevens, who was only 46, nicknamed 'Uncle' died of a suspected heart attack, and was remembered by his boat, aptly named Firecrest, being set alight where is was moored close to City Road Basin on the Regents Canal in remembrance, Allan Richards tells us.

Police

After the burning, memorabilia and cards were left on a nearby canal side bench, but now both the police and Canal & River Trust (CaRT) are attempting to discover who was responsible.

When the blaze was first seen it was assumed that vandals were responsible, but it soon became apparent that Mark's boat had been set alight deliberately as part of a Viking ceremony for the dead.

A spokesman for CaRT, whilst showing remorse at the death of the boater pointed out that it does not like the idea of boats being set alight deliberately.