Bungling boat thieves ran into trouble when they forgot to take the mast down.
The crooks hitched the £1,500 sailing dinghy to the back of their getaway car but hit a snag when the mast struck overhead phone lines. The impact smashed the mast, damaging the hull and trailer.
The 14ft boat was taken from a dinghy park off Coast Road, West Mersea. It belonged to the 17 Colchester Sea Scouts.
Scout leader Kim Collier said: "They were either in a terrible rush or not too bright - everyone knows you don't tow a dinghy with the mast up."
The blundering boat snatchers managed to get across the Strood before a wheel fell off the trailer. The boat is thought to have been stolen on Sunday morning.
Published Thursday May 27, 2004
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