Our son Tom and his girlfriend Billie got back from working at Glastonbury festival to their North London canal boat and discovered it had been maliciously vandalised whilst they have been away.. This has caused the boat to sink. Another boater had seen some kids vandalising and smashing the boat. They are beyond themselves with despair. The boat was their full-time home whilst Tom studies at University of Arts (UAL) and Billie works. All their belongings are ruined; passports, laptops, cameras, art materials and equipment, not to mention many sentimental items.

It’s been reported to the police and a crime report has been raised, however, as suspected the police cannot do much about this. The canal and river trust (CRT) have been to the boat and have cordoned it off to stop fuel going into the river, yet they failed to inform Tom and Billie that it was underwater. Tom and Billie found the boat sunken when they got back from Glastonbury.

They have marine insurance, but it seems with the huge cost of pulling the boat out of the water this will only recover part of the cost of their boat. Not their belongings, tools for their livelihoods, both are artists and crafts people. It’s looking likely that the boat will not be liveable again and will be beyond economical repair. The insurance also doesn’t cover the enormous amount of work that they have been doing on the boat for the last year to make it a home; A handmade oak kitchen, cooker, hardwood flooring, their wood burner, installing solar energy… all of their renovations that they have been painstakingly working on to restore the boat, to make a nice place for them to live in, pouring in every penny and hour they had this past year. It’s beyond sad.

The insurance doesn’t even cover emergency accommodation for them, Tom and Billie are having to stay with different friends in London whilst they wait to hear if the boat is salvageable. They have to stay in London for work/study, otherwise we’d have them back here in Wiltshire.

Anyway, Tom and Billie wouldn’t dream of asking people for financial help, hence us setting up this page. They are going to need help and if we can even just raise a few pounds to assist them get back on their feet, that would be amazing. They may need to pay rent to temporarily live somewhere. The insurance sadly does not cover this either.

We’re asking as a couple of mums, if you can help these young people in their 20’s, they will be eternally grateful. Friends and parents alike..People of Somerset/Wiltshire (where Tom is from), People of Manchester (where Billie is from), People of London where their community is now..and People of Glastonbury Festival and that wonderful community and spirit that runs through it, please can you help?

Thanks so much, Vikki & Mel x

#edit: Tom & Billie are absolutely blown away with everyone’s kind donations. There’s still no news from the insurance company just yet, but it’s looking like the recovery costs alone will be covered. Not any of their belongings, items, uni work, etc. They literally just have the clothes they went to Glastonbury with :( .. all funds will help them to rebuild their home, whether it be the boat or something else x x x

edit 2 : Message from Tom & Billie :

Heyy, just wanted to put a Thankyou message out there for everyone that has donated and shared our go fund me page.

It’s heart warming how many friends, family and everyone beyond that have helped us this week, we’re pretty speechless tbh.

Without that support I don’t know how we would be moving forward with all of this.. life can be a shit show but as long as you have people around you that care it makes it that bit easier, so yeah a big fat heart felt Thank you for all the amazing people we are lucky to know and have in our little chaotic lives right now.

❤️ Billie & Tom ❤️