HC Deb 02 August 1966 vol 733 cc270-1

4.8 p.m.

Mr. R. Gresham Cooke (Twickenham)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make it an offence to take away, to attempt to take away or to be a party to the taking away of, a vessel without authority; and for purposes connected therewith. This will not be a ten-minute Bill; I hope that it will be only a two-minute one.

It is not always realised that at present it is not an offence to take away or cast adrift for the purpose of joy-riding without the owner's consent any yacht, motor boat or dinghy. It is an offence to steal such a vessel with the intention permanently to deprive the owner of it, but in cases of taking away the courts have great difficulty in finding the offence proved and have to resort to such subterfuges as stealing of petrol, which would be used in the case of a motor boat taken for a joy ride. But, of course, such a device cannot be used in the case of a sailing vessel.

A similar anomaly in the law in the case of motor cars was put right as long ago as 1930, in the Road Traffic Act. I propose to adopt the law of the motor car in the Bill to make it an offence to take away any vessel without the consent of the owner or without the reasonable belief that the owner would have given his consent if he had been asked.

Many cases have been drawn to my attention of casting adrift, taking away boats on the South Coast, often very valuable ones, and, as President of the River Thames Society, I know that this kind of vandalism can be a nuisance on the Thames, too.

Also, we see from yesterday's accident between Falmouth and Fowey that sailing away in a boat that one does not know very much about can be dangerous.

The principle implied in the Bill has, I believe, the support of the Government, as there is a Clause along similar lines in the draft of the Theft Bill, which was outlined in the eighth Report of the Criminal Revision Committee and which, I believe, the Government hope to introduce in due course. I feel that it would show the public that Parliament has in mind to legislate on this subject it, over this summer at least, the Title of my Bill were on the Order Paper. My proposed Bill also has the support of the Royal Yachting Association.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Gresham Cooke, Dr. Reginald Bennett, Sir John Langford-Holt, Colonel Sir Harwood Harrison, Mr. E. L. Mallalieu, Mr. R. T. Paget, Mr. Grant-Ferris, Mr. John Cronin, Mr. John Parker, Dr. David Owen, Mr. A. P. Costain, and Mr. Patrick Jenkin.

    c271
  1. VESSELS PROTECTION BILL 56 words