Row on the riverbank as 'waste dumped in canal'

RESIDENTS have been left shocked after witnessing boatdwellers using a picturesque canal as a sewer - by emptying "human faeces" into it.

- FILIPA GASPAR

Locals living close to a picturesque canal say they have recently been blighted by antisocial behaviour.

In recent months some have been seen emptying their human waste into the waterways, overstaying their licences and leaving rubbish on the towpaths.

Despite having a good relationship with the majority of boaters, residents living close to Bath's Kennet and Avon Canal in Bath want stronger rules to be enforced on the canal.

The issue has been raised in Parliament by Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, who said householders had also reported problems including loud music late into the night, bonfires and vandalism.

Zuleika Henry, 83, theatre photographer, whose garden has a view to the canal, said she witnessed a boater dumping his toilet bucket into the canal.

Ms Henry who has lived there for nearly 30 years said: "We love the canal people. A lot of our friends are traders on the canal.

"But when one person ruins it for everybody, it's very upsetting.

"He [boater] was sitting outside on his chair fishing, and then he went inside, and he came out, and he threw his toilet bucket into the canal.

"And there is a pump out station just on the other side of the bridge which is only £5 and is what the other boaters do.

"It just made me feel quite sick, because there are paddle boarders that come up here in the summer, and often fall in, because it's their first go - it's just not acceptable.

"I was looking out the window, because it's a beautiful view. That was the worst thing I've seen.

"You get a few people leaving their trash around, lying around, you get a few people urinating in the bushes. But not actually chucking your toilet in the canal."