Thieves in botched boat raid at Christchurch (From Bournemouth Echo)

Thieves in botched boat raid at Christchurch

11:39am Monday 30th August 2010 in

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WOULD-BE thieves used bolt cutters to try and steal six boats in Christchurch in the early hours of Saturday morning.

But the raiders ended up with nothing as two vessels, together worth nearly £100,000, were left to drift down the River Stour in the botched attack at The Meridians Marina.

Another four boats were damaged in the attempt.

The coastguard was called at around 7am on Saturday by members of the public further down the river as they thought someone had fallen overboard.

Mudeford Lifeboat was then launched to help scour the water for someone in trouble.

But all they found was the damaged boats.

One boat owner, who lives in Wick Lane that backs onto the private moorings, heard engines at around 3am but thought nothing of it as anchor alarms didn’t go off.

John White, whose boat was tampered with but not taken, said: “I came down to go out on my boat for the day and was really shocked.

“It’s so quiet here, you wouldn’t expect it. Security is reasonably good and we keep a watchful eye out – this isn’t the work of children though, it’s clearly deliberate.”

The two drifting boats, one white and one red in colour, were returned to their positions and fingerprinted for clues. PC Dave Williams said: “The marina belongs to Christchurch Harbour Marine Watch and they are very vigilant. The culprits knew what they were doing, and have removed covers and rummaged through lockers.”

The crime follows a recent spate of boat thefts in Tuckton, he added.

In a similar attack on the same marina last year, a 150 horsepower engine was stolen.

Anyone with any information, or who saw people acting suspiciously in the area, can contact Dorset Police on 01202 222 222.