HOMELESS boater George Ward has been hit with a double financial blow in the latest bitter legal row with the Canal and River Trust.

The organisation is demanding he pay £30,743 for the removal of his workboat the March Hare from the Kennet & Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon on May 11.

In addition, the Trust is also asking Mr Ward to pay £1,314.68 to cover licence fees and courier charges to return personal items removed with his boat on the day.

Mr Ward, 62, who is currently living in a tent by the canal where he was forcibly evicted, has also been given notice of the trust’s intention to sell his boat and goods on October 13 to recover some of its costs if he can't find the money to have them returned.

But paperwork seen by the Wiltshire Times shows that even if he raises the cash, Mr Ward, who is registered disabled, will not be allowed to use or moor his boat on the 2,000 miles of canals or inland waterways network the trust manages.

Wiltshire Times: Geroge Ward sat outside the gazebo tent on the Kennet & Avon Canal towpath.

In the papers, Matthew Aymes, the Trust’s customer support manager, said: “This period is sufficient to provide you with a reasonable opportunity to take delivery of the goods.

"For the avoidance of doubt, after you have taken delivery of the goods they must be removed from the bailee’s waterways.”

The Trust says it is entitled to act under Section 8 (2) of the British Waterways Act 1983 and Section 12 (3) of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.

It is also making a claim for possession of land on the K&A Canal towpath near Bradford on Avon where Mr Ward is now living in a gazebo tent, having been made homeless after his boats were removed from the canal.

The Trust says it is acting because of 'actual or threatened antisocial behaviour' and because Mr Ward is trespassing on the towpath by living there without its consent.

One of the letters is addressed to 'George Ward, Gazebo on the towpath, Kennet and Avon Canal'.

Both the claim and the injunction to prevent trespass are listed for an in-person hearing at 10am on July 25 at Bristol County Court.

Mr Ward said: “I intend to apply to the court for an adjournment of 28 days.

“I will be informing the court that the paperwork has once again been incorrectly served by the Trust and that once again it has failed to abide by the requirements of the court by only giving me seven days’ notice instead of 14 days.

Wiltshire Times:

“It is obvious that I don’t have the money to pay for the return of my boat and possessions. They just want to take all my property and want to see me bankrupted.”

In response, a Canal and Rivers Trust spokesperson said: “These issues are between the Trust and Mr Ward.

"If he wishes to share further details with you then he can do so.”

The £30,743 cost includes £24,099 for a surveyor, crane hire, transport and a removal team, as well as £6,392 for 34 hours of staff time, and £252 to store his boat at a storage yard near Chester for six weeks at £42 per week.

The £1,314,68 cost includes damages of £989.68 equivalent to licence fees from May 1 2022 to May 11 2023, and courier charges of £325 including loading.

It is not yet clear whether Mr Ward will receive similar demands in relation to his other workboat, The Celtic, which was removed by the Trust from the canal on April 19.