Broads boat hire firm bans booze after complaints

A boat hire company has banned alcohol on its vessels in a bid to stop anti-social behaviour on The Broads.

Hippersons Boatyard in Beccles, Suffolk said it had to resort to the measure as some guests would become "over-refreshed" while out on the boats.

Director Mary Sparrow said some had been seen urinating off the side of the boats, and some had been rude to staff on their return.

The Broads Authority urged people to take care when on the waterways.

Ms Sparrow, who is also chairperson of Visit the Broads, said there was a "minority" of people who would "come out just because they want to drink on the water all day".

"They take crates of beer with them, they go to the pub, they moor up, they drink all day and they come back drinking more and they are really over-refreshed," she said.

She said they would receive complaints from other guests or phone calls from people who had "seen them along the river with our boat name on it and they've been very unhappy about their behaviour".

"We decided we had to change things because that's not what we wanted for people. We want people to have a good time on The Broads, to come back to the Broads and also be safe," she said.

"We can't afford for someone to damage one of our boats, we can't afford the reputational damage and we certainly don't want our staff to be treated in a bad manner."

Rob Rogers, director of operations at the Broads Authority, said it was up to the boat hire companies to put mitigation measures in place.

He said he appreciated that people were often on holiday when on the waterways in Norfolk and Suffolk and wanted to have a "good time, and enjoying good food and wine often goes with that".

"We always tell people to balance their alcohol intake," he said.

"Always wear a life jacket and don't overindulge in alcohol."

A boating byelaw states people should not navigate a vessel while under the influence of drink or drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of taking proper control of the vessel.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) proposed last year to grant rangers additional powers, including issuing fixed penalty notices if byelaws were broken.

It said following the consultation, it was considering how the proposals fit with wider Defra policy.

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