A 'quiet zone' has been created on a stretch of canal in a Wiltshire village.

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Signs have been put up along the Kennet and Avon Canal near Pewsey asking boaters to avoid running generators or playing loud music.

The parish council had planned to ban all boats mooring between Honeystreet Bridge and west of the Barge Inn due to "ongoing problems with noise".

But at a meeting it was agreed to create a quiet mooring zone instead.

Charles Reiss, from Alton Parish Council, said he hoped the 'Q Sign' could be "repeated as a working model at other problem points".

He said: "It was agreed as a co-operative project between local residents, boaters and the Canal and River Trust - and it seems to be working.

"There are no consequences - it doesn't have any teeth but boaters appear to want to cooperate and are mooring beyond the Barge Inn outside the zone."

Pub landlord convicted of marker theft
20 Jun 2013 12:19

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The licensee of the Rising Sun pub in Woolhampton has been convicted of stealing an historic boundary marker from the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
 
He was caught by a canal volunteer who spotted the stolen iron boundary marker for sale on eBay.
 
Wayne Sangwell, 44, of Kestrels Mead, Tadley, denied the theft, but was convicted by Reading magistrates on Monday, June 3.
 
Sangwell was running the Kennet and Avon Canal caf^ and shop under contract at the time of the theft.
 
A canal trust volunteer played detective and found the missing boundary marker which had been sold on eBay. The Great Western Railway iron boundary marker, which dates back to 1917, was stolen last autumn from the gardens of the listed Aldermaston Wharf Cottage on the Kennet and Avon canalside.
 
A volunteer heritage advisor for the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust was quickly on the case.
 
Trawling eBay, he saw the item had been sold, who had bought it and traced the thief.
 
Sangwell was fined ^110 plus ^270 costs.
 
David Viner, heritage advisor, who was one of those who helped retrieve the marker, said: ^We are delighted to have tracked the boundary marker down and got it back safely, it^s an important part of the history of the railway and canal.
 
^Thanks must go to volunteers from the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust too, as they wouldn^t let it lie.
 
^When someone suggested eBay it sounded like looking for a needle in a haystack.
 
^Fortunately, the thief had placed a photo of the marker online which included part of the canal cottage in the view.
 
^The buyer was mortified when we got in touch, but credit to them for returning it so swiftly.
 
^Heritage theft like this is on the increase.
 
^But it^s not just canals, there have been recent examples of vandals plundering major archaeological sites, listed buildings and especially churches where thieves target the lead roofing.
 
^That^s why we need to take action.
 
^The thief knew exactly what he was doing. We are very happy that the police and courts have pursued this case. Hopefully it will serve as a warning to others and make them think twice about following suit.^
 
The Great Western Railway Company owned the Kennet and Avon Canal for nearly a century and its distinctive cast-iron boundary markers were used when there was no natural boundary, like a wall or road, to mark the border of their land.
 
The marker has an embossed head bearing details of the company which is attached to a section of railway track very well set into the ground.
 
Removal of heritage assets and similar crimes are an increasing problem nationally.
 
As well as benefitting from the work of volunteers, the trust works closely on cases with bodies such as English Heritage, which has set up the Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage (ARCH) and also has a police inspector seconded to it as its national policing a dviser.
 
Sangwell featured in the news recently when a lorry jack-knifed and ran into the Rising Sun pub on the A4 Bath Road.

Capsized narrow boat removed from canal lock near Bath

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The hired boat is thought to have rolled over after getting caught on a ledge at the back of the lock

A capsized narrow boat which partially closed the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bath for five days has been removed.

Lock 11 on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Widcombe, was closed on Saturday after a hired boat overturned.

According to the Canal and River Trust, the boat rolled over after getting caught on a ledge at the back of the lock as water drained out.

A 30m (98 ft) winch was used to pull the boat off the cill before the water was pumped out and it was refloated.

The canal is set to reopen later on Friday but the canal below the lock needs to be topped up with water before it is reopened to boats

Joe Coggins, from the trust, said: "We had to use a winch to twist the boat back into position because we couldn't get a big enough crane on to the tow path. But we haven't had to drain the lock completely and we haven't had to do a fish rescue, as there was enough water in the bottom of the lock."