Boat show in chaos after council bosses forget to fill up lake

A model boat show was ruined because Portsmouth City Council forgot to fill up a lake. Crowds of people turned up to see Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team's annual display.

But members soon realised the lake was too low for some of the bigger boats which would have been marooned on the mud.

John Wilkins, who has been a member of the display team for five years, said: 'We were disgusted. We had been bending the council's ears about it for weeks ahead and when we got there and saw the water it was really low.



'Lots of people turned up and we had a marquee and everything. We did the best we could as we are professionals, but it was a shame as we could not do a lot of the displays. Lots of our bigger boats, such as the 9ft model of the Victory, have removable keels and so they need the depth.'

Council engineers top up the lake by opening inlets to let seawater in when weather conditions mean it runs low. Leisure bosses apologised for failing to do it ahead of the show.

Cllr Lee Hunt, in charge of culture and leisure, said: 'It has been hot and windy so some of the water may have evaporated. I understand none of the boats were damaged but I do apologise and have apologised to members of the boat club.'