Boat vandalised and sunk in East Voe

A 25-year-old man living on disability allowance has been left devastated after vandals sunk his beloved boat just weeks after he had restored her to the water.

Ian Arthur, father of boat-owner Hunter, explained the tragic events of last week. “She was sitting in East Voe marina and was vandalised then sunk between Monday night (3rd May) and Tuesday morning.

“What they did was cut multiple wires, like starter wires, alternator wires, then they disconnected the battery, disconnected the starter, broke the Z drive. I believe that they put some kind of hose in the boat. I don’t know how she went down but she went down.”

The vandalism has caused an estimated £7,000 worth of damage to the 19 foot, fibreglass vessel and she took four days to recover.

Hunter, a frequent user of the Eric Gray Centre, only got the boat at the end of last year as a project, as Ian explains: “She’s only been in the water for two weeks. We bought her as a non-runner and did a lot of work on her over the winter, then put her in the water to get the engine running better.”

Hunter has been left devastated by the event but has been grateful for all of the well wishes from concerned people via social media and extends his thanks for the support.

So far no arrests have been made.

Ian said: “They know who they are and they won’t get away with it. The police really do take a dim view of any crimes done against people that’s on disability, it’s classed as a hate crime.

“We don’t want donations or anything like that. We just want them caught.”

If you have any information call Lerwick police on 01595 741110, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.