A man who has spent the past seven years battling the marine authorities for the right to anchor his own barge on foreshore he owns at a Cornish quay has been found guilty of "carrying out a marine licensable activity without a licence" and now faces paying £20,000 costs.
It was revealed last month that Dean Richards, 43, faced a possible two-year sentence if found guilty - despite his argument that the way he is mooring his 86ft barge using pin anchors was exempt from a licence.
He is the owner of a barge he keeps on foreshore he bought at Point, between Truro and Falmouth, and wants to turn it into a home for him and his eight-year-old son.
A jury at Truro Crown Court on Friday (November 1) agreed with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) that he needed a licence and following a two-day trial found him guilty.
Mr Richards was given a conditional discharge, with Judge Simon Carr saying he had some sympathy with him, but not when it came to costs - which he suggested should be £20,000 as he believed Mr Richards "self-inflicted" the trial at considerable cost to a cash-strapped government body.
Judge Carr said Mr Richards was "repeatedly misled" during communications with members of the MMO, which led him down a trail which ended in the court case. However, the judge said the matter should have been heard in a civil court and not in the crown court and laid the blame on Mr Richards for pursuing a trial hearing.
The judge said he would not issue a criminal behaviour order for the removal of the boat as that was the sort of thing issued to people to stop them "drinking alcohol and urinating in Truro".
A legal representative for the MMO told the judge the boat was used for 'tombstoning' by children so there was concern about it being there.
Judge Carr suggested Mr Richards should pay £20,000 costs but gave him 14 days to see if he had the assets to pay. He added the costs were "self-inflicted" and told the jury it was a "very odd case" for them to be hearing in a crown court.
'Stop anchoring boats being an imprisonable offence' - just before the court case.
Mr Richards is now considering his next move, but set up a Crowdfunder page -Mr Richards is hoping to raise £100,000 to help cover what he has had to spend so far, as well as a possible appeal, which would need to go to the Supreme Court in London.
He says on the fundraiser: "Even if I am successful in court and manage to stop the MMO from implementing this, I am still facing further large expenses with Cornwall Council who are now saying I need planning permission for my anchors, despite granting me a Certificate of Lawfulness to moor boats on my foreshore. I am currently appealing their enforcement.
"In addition to this, a wealthy local homeowner, who owns two properties nearby, and does not live in Cornwall, has started civil proceedings against me for nuisance and trespass. My boat is visible from this holiday let property and this is being used as a mechanism to gain an injunction to make me move."
Mr Richards has accused both the MMO and Cornwall Council of making a series of U-turns, which has led to a huge amount of stress and financial impact.
He said: "I have been fighting this on my own for some time, unable to afford a marine law expert, researching and preparing everything myself but still spending a considerable amount of my own money in the process in an effort to protect the right to anchor for everyone in the UK, and stop the requirement for expensive marine licence applications to deposit your anchor on the seabed."
You can read an extended interview with Mr Richards here: Carer speaks of 'vendetta' against him for mooring barge on his own land
So far he has raised £437 towards his £50,000 target.
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