7 days ago
Paul Barltrop,West of England political editorand
Georgia Eadie,West of England
BBC
The Kennet and Avon Canal runs from Bristol to Reading
Calls for stronger powers to enforce rules on canals have been made amid concerns about antisocial behaviour.
Residents living close to Bath's Kennet and Avon Canal have said they have witnessed boat owners emptying human excrement into the waterway.
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.
Bosses at the Canal and River Trust, which is responsible for the waterways, said their powers can be limited in certain areas so they work with the Environment Agency.
Mary Creagh, the parliamentary under secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told MPs during a debate she understood Hobhouse's concerns.
"The government is committed to tackling this type of antisocial behaviour," she said, explaining that a "range of measures" has been proposed in the new Crime and Policing Bill.
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Resident Zuleika Henry told the BBC she was shocked by what she recently saw from her back garden.
"There was a boat moored just opposite us for quite some time, and he emptied his toilet into the canal," she said.
"It floats down to the lock and gets stuck by the gates. It's just disgusting," added Henry.
She and her neighbour Richard Pooley said having people living on the water is "mostly positive".
But he has seen poorly-maintained boats deteriorate, and even sink.
"Some of them are pretty bad, pretty decrepit," he said.
Boaters pay an annual licence to the Canal and River Trust, and should not stay in the same spot more than 14 days.
Pooley said some abandoned boats get in the way and stop people enjoying the canal
Hobhouse called a debate on the issue in parliament on 21 January.
She told the House of Commons:"It is a very small minority who're spoiling it for everybody else.
"There is a fragmented enforcement landscape, which needs to be sorted out."
Ben Cottam, Wales and South West director for the Canal and Rivers Trust, said funding remains a constraint.
"Our powers can be limited in certain areas, so that's where, in terms of pollution of the canal we will work with Environment Agency colleagues or colleagues in local government," he added.
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