A couple "lost everything" and have slept in hotels and on friends' couches since their houseboat sank when, they believe, a weir was emptied by accident.

After a weir gate was opened at the Sandford-upon-Thames weir structure, effectively draining a section of the Thames, the water level plummeted by nearly two metres in an hour.

Three houseboats on residential moorings on Weirs Mill Stream near to Donnington Bridge Road were sunk totally, and many others suffered a near-miss.

Residents of nearby Canning Cresent were awoken by the sound of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue crews from all over the county who spent all night and even launched their own boat trying to prevent the sinking.

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Three months on from the incident at the end of May, Tim Wiseman and his partner are still effectively homeless, living with a neighbour and facing huge losses.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Wiseman said: "We were on holiday in Ireland and received a phone call in the middle of the night by panicked neighbours. 

"It isn't an exaggeration to say people could have died. It was dark, it happened very quickly and boats pitched at 45 degrees in minutes. 

"By chance, our 87-year-old neighbour was not on his boat that night. Another has two young toddler children - it was terrifying for them." 

Mr Wiseman's boat tipped right over, and as the water came back up it entered the engine bay through a vent.  

He said: "The water was up to the ceiling and everything was ruined."

The boat was raised three days later by a specialist salvage company, but has since had to be gutted due to the pollution and damage.  

Since then the couple, who work locally for the NHS and police, have stayed in a Travelodge, triggering an episode of mental illness for Mr Wiseman's partner, until they could no longer afford it and a kind neighbour gave them their boat while they are away. 

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Mr Wiseman said that since the incident, they have received no information on what happened or why.

The Sandford weir structure is operated by the Environment Agency and used to manage water levels on the Thames south of Oxford.

In 2017, a community interest company called the Low Carbon Hub Oxford raised funds through a community share offer to build the Sandford-on-Thames hydro electric plant as an extension to the weir.

Oxford Mail:  

Mr Wiseman said: "The Environment Agency are refusing to cooperate with the Sandford Hydro's insurers, and vice versa, in a joint investigation into what happened and why.

"We are left with no answers, a stonewall from the public body which is responsible for the waterways and our safety.

"Three months on we are still homeless, no liability or damages paid. 

"What is appalling is that the EA - which has the overall duty of care for the waterways - have no record as to who has a key to access the structure, they have no log of when a weir is opened or closed and by whom.

"The EA's log from the evening seems to suggest that attempts to raise duty waterways staff to respond failed, they slept through the calls, and their response was over two hours late."

Oxford Mail:

Dr Barbara Hammond, chief executive of Low Carbon Hub, said they are working with the Environment Agency and are unable comment on details while investigations are ongoing.

But she added the hydro generators were switched off when the incident occurred due to the dry summer which meant that river conditions were not suitable for hydro generation.

She said their insurer had been in touch with Mr Wiseman and they hoped to be meeting with the Environment Agency shortly "following the conclusion of their, and our, insurer’s investigations".

The EA did not respond to a request for comment.

 

 

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