A COUPLE whose beloved canal boat 'The Gnome of Rishton' was destroyed by vandals say they will stop at nothing to find the culprits.

Anne and Michael Darby, of Meadow Gardens, Rishton, returned from a few days away to discover their beautiful narrow boat reduced to a burnt-out shell.

The 24-foot boat, designed to sleep four people, had been moored on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at the bottom of their garden.

Before it was set alight, all the gas taps had been turned on to ensure the fire was as serious as possible.

The blaze was discovered by Mr and Mrs Darby's neighbours, who broke the bad news on the couple's return.

Mr Darby, 54, and his wife, 57, both special needs teachers, are devastated. They owned the boat with Anne's brother and his wife, John and Ann Moreton from Kent.

Mr Darby said: "We had it built from new and a lot of thought and a lot of love went into it.

"It must be one of the most travelled boats around. We were on it for six weeks last year. We have been to Birmingham and the Manchester Ship Canal and this year it was going to go down to Bristol.

"It was a very, very well-known boat. It was very colourful boat and we used it a lot. It is going to be a great loss for a lot of people." The couple were insured for the £23,000 cost of the narrow boat but Mr Darby said the most upsetting thing was the loss of the personal items in the boat which could not be replaced.

"When people had used it they had put their own personal mementoes in it and every time it was used the log was filled in.

"All these personal touches have been lost."

The couple have put up posters around Rishton asking for information about the crime and Mr Darby said they had had a wonderful response from local people.

"We are determined to leave no stone unturned until we find out who did it," he said.

The boat was taken between 6pm and midnight on Wednesday. Police believe it had been pulled up the canal towards Church, where it was possibly spotted with some youths aboard at about 9pm. It was then brought back to close to its original mooring and set alight.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Great Harwood Police on 01254 884800.

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