Horrible happenings on the K&A

[Jason Wilson and Family]

I know I' a bit late but...

 

I'm not sure that arson is hereditary.

 

No it's not, but the mindset it would take is, the rest will be learned through example.

 

 

As for the police, I'd be interested to see what happened to the crime rate if they were just done away with. We know they can't prevent crime and now it seems they don't even want to respond to them, what do they want to do? Or is it just a case of good-old discrimination when it happens to boaters? After-all you're all just n'er-do-well gypsies and tramps who hide on the fringe of society, right?

 

Edited July 27, 2009 by Jason Wilson and Family

[bastonjock]

if they get caught in todays Liberal society they will probably end up on some sort of youth adventure scheme for a few months.Whilst the prospects of waking up and finding that you are a victim of arson are very very slim,it is most upsetting that a young child was endangered by the youths.

 

If it is getting out of hand then a neighbourhood watch scheme may be the answer,donning reflective jackets with "security " on them and a regular patrol of the Area

[Cris P]

It was such an obvious case of arson that CID were involved from the start, but I'm afraid to say that their response was "no witnesses, no cctv, forensic evidence destroyed, not much we can do".

 

Personally i would have thought that knocking on the doors of neighbouring boats and seeking out a few potential witnesses would have been a good initial step. Sadly this did not occur.

 

We are of course getting another boat to live on asap.

 

In the meantime I'd like to thank everyone who helped us out, many total strangers and many old friends.

 

And no thanks to the grinning smirking idiot from Bathampton Parish Council who covertly took a photo of my wife in tears at the loss of our home. Words can not express the contempt I hold him in.

[The Wanderer]

Cris,

 

Really sorry to hear about the fire, it must have been very frightening for you and your wife. You where very lucky and owe your son one for saving your life. As a water squirter I have seen the devastation that a fire can cause and how people can become trapped very easily when disorientated by smoke.

 

As you say you can attempt to tackle the fire if it’s safe to do so, but it would assist the fire service to find the location quickly if we boaters knew our location on the cut and the nearest access point to the canal (even when cruising). This would a great help to the fire service in locating the scene as the canal is not a location they will be familiar with.

 

Just as a reminder to everyone, you can contact the fire service for a free fire risk assessment for your boat. They will give advice on smoke detector location etc. Obviously it can’t stop attacks of arson but will give ideas on maintaining your means of escape from the boat.

 

I hope you find a suitable new home and eventually recover from your ordeal.

[Cris P]

We've got a new boat, and just about finished moving it to our neck of the woods. Not quite what I'd planned on getting next, but it's a decent 68ft Mike Heywood roof over our heads.

 

Thank goodness the nightmare is sort of over.

[Cinimod]

Here is another to add to the list.

 

We have been 'stuck' just below Devizes Top Lock No 50 since the end of Jan due to BW locking lock 50. This may be partially my fault for not having read the stoppage clearly, but I had thought that for the repairs to the Caen flight they would have stopped at the turning point just above.... (Side qn, if there are boats going to be 'stuck' why do BW not contact the owners before locking up? They have contact details if the boats are registered!)

 

Anyways - we got back to the boat Friday night, after having been onshore for a month to find our gang plank and mop missing from the top... then our padlock gone from the hatch... then we get inside and whilst the place was tidy, there were things missing...

A wireless router and antenna for broadband (not just a dongle, but about £250 worth of kit)

The CD/Radio

3 x fire extinguishers

My Leatherman (which I bought about 15 years ago in San Francisco)

A clock / temperature thingy

Some glow sticks

Maglite Torch

 

Have to say, the police were very good - they came out Saturday morning and then the Crime scene man came out and got some lovely prints from the TV (fortunately screwed to the wall...) so hopefully the chancer is on file...

 

What really took the biscuit though is that when we arrived we also found a patrol notice from B/W telling us to move for overstaying, when we have been in constant contact with them about why we are stuck and when can we move.... I feel a very strongly worded email coming on...

[GSer]

Here is another to add to the list.

 

We have been 'stuck' just below Devizes Top Lock No 50 since the end of Jan due to BW locking lock 50. This may be partially my fault for not having read the stoppage clearly, but I had thought that for the repairs to the Caen flight they would have stopped at the turning point just above.... (Side qn, if there are boats going to be 'stuck' why do BW not contact the owners before locking up? They have contact details if the boats are registered!)

 

Anyways - we got back to the boat Friday night, after having been onshore for a month to find our gang plank and mop missing from the top... then our padlock gone from the hatch... then we get inside and whilst the place was tidy, there were things missing...

A wireless router and antenna for broadband (not just a dongle, but about £250 worth of kit)

The CD/Radio

3 x fire extinguishers

My Leatherman (which I bought about 15 years ago in San Francisco)

A clock / temperature thingy

Some glow sticks

Maglite Torch

 

Have to say, the police were very good - they came out Saturday morning and then the Crime scene man came out and got some lovely prints from the TV (fortunately screwed to the wall...) so hopefully the chancer is on file...

 

What really took the biscuit though is that when we arrived we also found a patrol notice from B/W telling us to move for overstaying, when we have been in constant contact with them about why we are stuck and when can we move.... I feel a very strongly worded email coming on...

 

 

Hi Dom, thats a pain!! I hope you get a result the scum deserve stringing up IMO, make an example of them.

 

Paul