Booze cruising ban over drunken antics in Broads national park

A boat hire company in a national beauty spot has banned alcohol on its day boats after complaints about rowdy and drunken behaviour on the water.

Hippersons Boatyard in Beccles has acted after a rise in complaints about revellers urinating over the side of boats on the Norfolk Broads and staff being abused.

But the Broads Authority, which is responsible for the waterways, said many people enjoyed a drink on the water and it could not impose a total ban or act as the "fun police".

Mary and Simon Sparrow, who run Hippersons, said cases of drunk and difficult behaviour had prompted them to ban drinking on day boats.

Mrs Sparrow said: "We've had people who live locally along the river phone up and say people are behaving in an anti-social way on the boats. We've had people come back drunk and start having little fights, lifting each other up to throw them in the river with bottles of vodka.

"The other thing we have to think about is our duty to our staff. People come back and they are very over-refreshed and can be quite challenging in their behaviour."

Mrs Sparrow said the river was busy with young children learning to sail and people on paddle boards and it was irresponsible of people to get drunk.

"I've seen people come past in day boats where they are over-refreshed and they are banging into the kids - and it's just not safe. We felt we didn't want it on our conscience if there was an accident so we decided on day boats, just no."

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Broads Authority's navigation committee where questions were asked about whether the authority had powers to tackle drinking on boats.

Committee member Bob Neate said: "I certainly observe very loud parties going past me at times where you can see that everyone has been drinking."

He asked what powers the authority had to tackle drinking on boats.

Rob Rogers, the authority's director of operations, replied: "It's not like driving a car, there's no legal limit of certain units in your blood, we have no way of testing that.

"What I often talk about is we need to have some kind of balance here.

"We have many thousands of visitors here on holiday, they are partly here to enjoy food and drink. We encourage people to have a designated driver, someone who abstains from drinking on the boat but we don't have the power to stop people from drinking.

"The Broads are not the fun police."

Mr Rogers said past complaints had related to stag groups but he argued the majority of problems tended to come from families who "end up at each others' throats" after being on a boat together for an extended period.

Mr Rogers also told the committee he was hoping to see a "much better standard" of boaters on the water.

This follows new rules being introduced meaning anyone hiring a vessel must demonstrate their ability at the helm even if they have hired one before.

The idea seems to have been welcomed by boaters who spoke to ITV News Anglia.

The Gower family, who were visiting Beccles, said they were looking for peace and quiet and approved of the ban.

Nick Gower said: "I think it's long overdue. You wouldn't want people getting in the car after drinking and the same rules and principles apply on a boat."

Meanwhile Elaine Childs, who was also hiring a day boat, said she wanted to relax and enjoy the wildlife.

Mrs Childs said: "When you are going up and down a river with a family you want a pleasant experience.

"You don't want to find beer cans floating along or a group who drink too much in a short period of time, create a lot of loudness, upset nature or go too fast."

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