Houseboat sinks on the broads

A houseboat has sunk in the Norfolk Broads.

The blue-and-white vessel went down sometime yesterday (Wednesday, November 28) in Sutton Broad, a branch of the River Ant, near a confluence with another branch of the river which leads to Stalham.

Miles Weston, 47, who lives in the area passes the spot regularly on his boat, said he saw yesterday afternoon that the boat had sunk.

He said: "I went past yesterday about 3.30pm-3.45pm and I noted it was pretty low in the water.

"It had clearly sunk. I spoke to someone who said he went past the day before and it was floating.

"My only concern is that I believe there was a dog on board, but I think the dog must be OK because I believe the owner is all right."

Mr Weston said he did not understand how the boat could have sunk.

He said: "It is a bit mysterious because this is a house boat so it doesn't have any hole systems in the hull which a normal boat would. It's very strange how a boat like that could sink."

A Broads Authority spokesman said they did not know how the vessel sank, and said it would be the owner's responsibility to recover and repair it.

He said: "As the vessel is not in the main navigation channel there is no effect on boaters in the area. It is in a small bay off of the river. It is the owners responsibility to recover a sunken vessel. The Broads Authority is responsible for making sure that the vessel is not a hazard to other users of navigation, marking it as a hazard if necessary, and dealing with or containing any pollution that may arise."

Norfolk Police said they would not have been informed about the sinking if there had been no question of criminality.