Eyesore blights historic gun tower

2:02pm Tuesday 23rd October 2007

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Calls to clean up their mess are being fired at the unknown owners of two rotting boats near the Gun Tower Museum in Pembroke Dock.

The boats have been left to decay on the Front Street moorings, opposite the museum for many months and vandalism has exacerbated their poor condition.

Curator of the museum, Cllr Ron Watts said: "This was reported to the county council and the water ranger when the problem first arose, when the ship nearest the walkway was vandalised months ago. The problem now is first and foremost a health and safety issue.

"Quite a lot of planks, fuel tanks and other debris have floated away in the tide and will pop up somewhere else. The flotsam that has floated away could cause damage to other vessels and then who would be liable?"

County councillor for Pembroke Dock Central has brought the state of the boats to the councils attention on previous occasions and said: "The time has come for something to be done, if the owners were going to do something they would have done so by now."

Health and safety was also of concern to staff members at the museum. One worker, Jillian Warren, said: "We have complained about it in the past. Apart from it looking unsightly it is not safe. They are in a terrible state and it's a death trap as far as I'm concerned."

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said: "We have been making efforts to trace the owners as it is ultimately their responsibility. If they cannot be traced in a certain period of time, we will have to remove the boats at our own expense."