Houseboat owner John Hunt said today he feels "depressed and terrified" after being forced to move his dream home to another part of the River Ouse.

Mr Hunt had to move his 57ft, 50-ton vessel Waterlily from its mooring off Skeldergate, York after city building firm KW Linfoot plc won an eviction order to build flats on the site.

Since April, the York postman's houseboat has been moored at the bottom of Marygate, but he is without electricity, water and the use of a telephone.

He is currently on two week's sick leave due to stress for which he is taking medication, and says he feels he is at the "lowest point in life".

"I think people just want to tie me anywhere they like on the river and then just walk away for good," he said.

"But I can't survive without the basics such as water and electricity. It's like me taking someone from their home and plonking them in the middle of a field to live."

He added that the Marygate site not only fails to provide the basic amenities, but it is a target for late-night drinkers who on several occasions have set him adrift.

"I feel vulnerable and petrified - this boat is all I own. Never before in my life have I had to take time off work for illness - I feel terrible."

Mr Hunt said ideally he would like to move his houseboat to the Foss Basin, where there is currently another houseboat, but he claims the City of York has turned down his request.

He planned to hold a meeting today with Philip Callow, the council officer responsible for river mooring to see if they could come up with a solution.

"I think they (the council) want to move me to the other side of Skeldergate, near St George's Field, which will be better than where I am now, but I will still be without electricity and I don't want it to be a permanent site.

"To be honest, I'm absolutely desperate - I do not know who to turn to next for help."

Philip Callow, of City of York Council, said: "Skeldergate already has planning permission for a houseboat, and if Mr Hunt was to move there we might be able to get funding to provide the correct amenities.

"With regard to Foss Basin, the Environment Agency has advised that it would be too dangerous for a houseboat to be there because of the flood barrier."

see NEWS 'Banking on a solution'

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