Section 8 boats removed from the River Lee

One of the boats, a small cabin cruiser named Shady Deal was identified as unlicensed during British Waterways’ national boat check week in November 2007. The London team have since then been working to identify the owner, and follow the procedure set out by British Waterways to encourage boat owners to pay the necessary licence fee, before resorting to seizing the boat, removing and destroying it.

All six boats were destroyed rather than sold due to their dilapidated condition. The five boats at Enfield were loaded onto lorries and taken to a recycling plant in Hoddesdon to be destroyed. The narrowboat at Bow was demolished on-site where it had sunk.

Licence evasion will not be tolerated by BW

Debbi Figueiredo, enforcement co-ordinator, British Waterways London, said: "We will of course work with our customers if they are having financial difficulties, and treat every individual case sensitively. But I do hope that the removal of the boats sends out a message to the small hardcore of non-payers in London that licence and mooring permit evasion will not be tolerated by British Waterways. We will work to ensure that if you don’t comply with our regulations your boat will be removed from the waterways."

All boats using British Waterways canals and rivers are required by law to hold a valid boat licence and where necessary a Boat Safety Certificate. There are currently 30,905 licensed boats on our waterways, generating £12.5m from craft licences. Last year 125 unlicensed boats were removed from the waterways.

Watch a Section 8 boat be destroyed.

Read about a day in the life of a patrol officer on the River Lee.