It's been called the fly-tipping of the maritime world. Hundreds of plastic boats are dumped on foreshores and tidal creeks around Devon and Cornwall. The problem is costing authorities thousands of pounds, harming the environment and can be seen from space but dealing with it has, in some cases, become "torturous".
Sinking into the mud of Hooe Lake the 65ft (20m) former fishing boat, 'Dignity', sheds her toxic paint into the sediment.
She is just one of hundreds of boats to lie abandoned on the shores and tidal creeks of Devon and Cornwall posing a risk to the environment.
Hooe Lake in Plymouth is one of the places which has become a graveyard for the giant pieces of waste.
By Rebecca Ricks BBC South West, 26 May 2021
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Several boats have been abandoned at Hooe Lake in Plymouth
This sailing boat was drifting in Penpol Creek when Ashley Butler recovered it
Ashley Butler has been left with the bill to dispose of a boat he never owned
Hundreds of abandoned boats dumped around Devon and Cornwall - BBC News