Outrage as fly-tippers dump complete speedboat in rural magnificence spot greater than 50 miles from the ocean

Villagers have been left enraged after fly-tippers chose a rural beauty spot more than 50 miles from the sea as the perfect place to dump a speedboat.

The weathered 20ft boat was abandoned on a country lane in the landlocked village of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. 

Its discovery caused ‘no end of alarm’ in the village after a local found it straddling a gate across a public footpath on Wednesday evening. 

Sharnbrook councillor Doug McMurdo said: ‘Everyone in the village has been making comments about it. 

‘People think it’s outrageous that anyone could do something like that.’ 

Bedford Borough Council has been left to bear the financial brunt of removing the boat, but it remains hopeful of catching the culprits, as the it still bears identification details for its owner.

It is not known where the boat was last moored but the spot – which is 52 miles from the sea – is surrounded by nearby lakes, including the 75-mile-long River Great Ouse. 

Although it still has its engine, the boat is not in working condition.  

The weathered 20ft boat was abandoned on a country lane in the landlocked village of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, more than 50 miles from the sea

The boat was found by a local straddling a gate across a public footpath on Wednesday evening

Councillor McMurdo told ITV yesterday: ‘A lorry will come out to lift it and take it away as soon as possible because it’s a blight on the area.

‘It is wholly unacceptable and I think its a blatant abuse of dumping rubbish in the hedgerow.’

The councillor believes it is ‘very likely’ that the owner will be found and held responsible given ‘the name is still on it and there’s a registration’. 

He added: ‘While this is not a very busy road, anyone who was travelling down there would have seen it happening.

‘I’m hoping someone will report what they saw.’

As the boat was discarded on a public highway, it is the council’s responsibility to remove it. 

Councillor McMurdo added: ‘I think its fair to say that rural areas do tend to get a lot of fly-tipping because they’re out of the way and there’s not much traffic.’ 

This comes amid a national rise in fly-tipping incidents in England, which have increased by nine per cent in a year, according to the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).