A boater caught using his boat on the River Thames without a valid registration has been fined £327.

Gavin Harwood, 34, of Gosling Road, Whitton, was slapped with the fine after Environment Agency lock and weir Keeper Peter McLellan spotted the boat, named Quadrille Lady, without a valid registration at Teddington lock last October.

It is a criminal offence to keep or use a boat on the non-tidal River Thames that has not been registered with the Environment Agency and displays a valid registration plate Harwood pleaded guilty to the offence and was ordered to pay £327 at Richmond Magistrates’ Court today.

Andrew Graham, an Environment Agency waterways operations manager, said: “The income we raise from boat registration is very important for the community and the environment.

“It contributes directly to maintaining waterway structures such as locks and lay-bys, as well as providing facilities like visitor moorings, water points, rubbish and sewage disposal and electric boat charging hook-ups.”

To find out more about registering boats visit environment-agency.gov.uk/boatreg.

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