Saxilby houseboat with dog on-board stolen by joyriders
Sean ChambersThieves stole a houseboat with a dog on-board from its moorings and took it for a six-mile joyride before leaving it ransacked at a lock in Lincoln.
Owner Sean Chambers said: "They have ruined the inside, and completely trashed my home, as well as breaking engine parts so it doesn't run now."
He said the thieves had ransacked the inside, with doors ripped off cupboards and pots and pans thrown about.
His dog was found in the area where the boat was moored, he added.
"It's one thing to take someone's property but to completely ruin it - it is my pride and joy, and I'm lost for words," Mr Chambers said.
He added that the only positive was his rescue dog Cheech had been found near where the boat was moored in Saxilby.
"Luckily, he has been found, and is being looked after until I get myself sorted out," he said.
Sean ChambersMr Chambers, who has lived on the boat for the past six months, said the thieves had left his home uninhabitable.
The 50ft (15m) blue and red house boat was stolen from its moorings and taken along the Fossdyke canal to Lincoln while Mr Chambers was at work on Monday evening.
He said he has been told two teenage boys were seen on the boat as it passed through Lincoln.
One is described as tall and blonde - the other is described as small with dark hair, he added.
Lincolnshire Police has launched an appeal for information and is asking anyone who saw the boat, Cockney Rose, travelling between Saxilby and Lincoln to get in touch.
In addition to taking the boat, the thieves also stole a bike, drone, fishing tackle and a chainsaw, police said.
