December 18, 2019 4.01 pm This story is over 52 months old

Lincoln locals rally to find new boat for homeless fire victim

Three yobs were caught on camera throwing fireworks in the boat before it was engulfed in flames
The boat went up in a huge fireball. Photo: Phil Stokes

Lincoln locals are trying to raise enough money to get a new home for a man after three yobs were seen setting fire to a boat he had been taking shelter in.

Karl Cox, who is known in the boating community as Yorkshire Karl, was homeless for about a decade before getting a boat in 2017.

He finally had somewhere to call home, but was left distraught when three “heartless kids” lit fireworks and threw them inside the boat.

Jasmine Caley is Karl’s friend and set up a fundraiser after finding a boat for sale that the owner was willing to sell at a reduced price.

She has now asked for The Lincolnite to share her fundraising page on JustGiving, where she has asked for £5,000.

A fireball wrecked through the boat on the Fossdyke moored up at Roman Wharf at around 2pm on December 10, prompting a large emergency response.

The fire service managed to put out the fire by 3pm and said that nobody was on the vessel at the time of the blaze.

Lincolnshire Police described the fire as intense and said that officers were treating the incident as arson.

The Lincolnite later shared security camera footage from a nearby vessel which clearly showed how three yobs threw fireworks into the boat.