FOUR narrowboats have been seized from a hire firm in Bradford on Avon Marina which has replaced a company that went into liquidation last week.

According to the assistant manager of Sally Narrowboats Ltd, in Trowbridge Road, their boats were repossessed on Friday due to a mix-up with the bank.

Sally Narrowboats, which has a fleet of 16 boats, was set up on September 18 last year at the same address and with the same director as former firm Sally Boats, later renamed Southern Waterways Leisure Ltd, which officially went into liquidation last Wednesday, according to Companies House and the London Gazette.

Southern Waterways made four people redundant in October last year – three of whom are taking the firm to an employment tribunal – and another three in March, including its assistant manager Malcolm MacDonald, who has been since been taken on by Sally Narrowboats Ltd.

Speaking about the boats being repossessed, Mr MacDonald said: “Four boats were taken on Friday. I’m not sure why but it appears to be due to a break down in negotiations between the new company and Barclays Mercantile.

“Sally Narrowboats replaces Sally Boats. We’ve got a new financial structure. This is a new entity coming out of the wreckage of an old one. There are things we need to do like sort all of the paperwork and get these boats back.”

Mr MacDonald says business is going well and all bookings will be honoured, including those made for the boats removed by crane last week.

The manager of Sally Narrowboats, Andrew Hemming, who was listed with Companies House as the financial director of the former Sally Boats (Southern Waterways), later denied the boats had been repossessed and said it was “normal procedure” for companies like theirs to have vessels taken away for repair or refurbishment.

Mr Hemming, who asked not be quoted, also refused to confirm whether the firm formerly known as Sally Boats had gone bust.

According to Companies House, both Sally Narrow-boats and Sally Boats Ltd (Southern Waterways) have John Stuart Benjamin listed as director.

Three former employees, made redundant in October, are taking Southern Waterways Leisure Ltd to an employment tribunal in Bristol on April 17.

Debs Hedges, 45, who was made redundant from her role as a cleaning supervisor, said: “We had a letter saying they were having a winter lay-off and a couple of weeks later I got another letter saying I was being made redundant.

“When I got my last pay packet I asked where my redundancy money was and I was told that ‘the cupboard is bare’. It’s a kick in the teeth to see the boats still going out.”