Narrowboat owner Paul Smith-Storey has told GB News of the shocking moment a huge 50-metre sinkhole almost claimed his home in Shropshire, admitting it was “really scary”.
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Mr Smith-Storey revealed he was just three boats away from the site of the landslip which caused the sinkhole, leaving the boats stranded.
Recalling how he was woken up at 4:20am to the sound of the landslip, the narrowboat resident explained what happened: “There was a huge breach on the Bridgewater Canal last year, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen boats at the bottom of the breach. It was quite scary to witness, to be honest.
“We’re about 90m away from where the sinkhole started. We got woke up at 4:20am this morning, and there was crashing on the boat because the boat was listing.
“We got off and a friend of ours told us that there was a sinkhole that had appeared and that there was a boat about to drop into it. And that when we got there, the boat was already in the bottom of this sinkhole.”
He added: “The rush of water was incredible, it just sounded like a huge waterfall. And luckily, those boaters got out and we actually helped the chap whose first boat went in.
“We only spoke to him yesterday, he only got here yesterday, unfortunately. But we’re just so thankful that he got out in time with his dog.”
Sharing more details of the boaters that were affected, Mr Storey-Smith said the three that fell into the sinkhole are currently living on their boats.
Narrowboat owner Paul Smith-Storey has told GB News of the shocking moment a sinkhole almost claimed his home
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GB NEWS / SHROPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE
He told GB News: “it was really scary. As far as we know, the three boaters were all living on the canal boats. I believe the local community centre has opened up and they’ve gone there for food and shelter.
“His wife luckily had gone to visit her father, and she’s on her way back. I’d dread to think what would have happened if they were asleep on that boat and it just dropped into that sinkhole.
“I guess they would have got out, but it was dark, it was raining, the noise was tremendous. I think it must have been so scary for those people that lost their boats.”
Revealing how the sinkhole has impacted him and his boat, the narrowboat resident told hosts Tom Harwood and Olivia Utley his boat is now sitting at a 45 degree angle.
The sinkhole opened in Whitchurch | SHROPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE
Mr Storey-Smith said: “We’ve been living on a narrow boat for five years. We planned to have a nice Christmas in Whitchurch, which is just a 10 or 15-minute walk from this spot. But now it’s just made it really difficult for people living on boats.
“We’re now listing at a 45-degree angle. I’m looking out the window to my left, and all I can see is the bank, there’s no sky.”
Admitting they will eventually just have to “come off the boat” and find alternative accommodation, he added: “It’s difficult. The dog is finding it difficult to walk on board, everything’s fallen out of the cabinets, the drawers are open.
“I’m on here because I’m doing a few things today to do with the breach, but I think we’re just going to have to come off the boat. We can’t cook, we can’t run our generator to top up our batteries because we need water to run our generator, and there’s probably about two inches of water under the boat.”
Mr Smith-Storey told GB News that ‘all he can see is the bank’ after his boat was impacted by the sink hole
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GB NEWS
Praising the help of the tight-knit boating community, Mr Storey-Smith admitted it was “emotional” to see fellow boaters lose their home to the sinkhole.
He told GB News: “Everyone’s all right and they’ve got off, but we were really upset. It was very emotional to see those people stood at the bank in the early hours of the morning, knowing that all their belongings are on the boat. That’s their home.
“So, we were upset by it this morning, but as narrowboaters, I think we just have to learn to crack on and hope that the Canal and River trust come along and fix this breach and get all the boats refloating as soon as possible.
“And the boating community, we’ve had so many messages asking if we’re okay. People have drove miles to turn up and ask if we wanted to stay with them for Christmas. It is the lifestyle and the community that we love.”
A spokesman from the Canal and River Trust said in a statement: “Please be advised that due to an incident, there is an emergency closure in place between Lock 6 Grindley Locks and Bridge 31A, Whitchurch By-Pass bridge. Please do not approach from either direction and we will provide an update in due course.”