Arson boat rises as Phoenix

A narrowboat home which was destroyed in an arson attack is back on the water with help from Express & Star readers.

Friends of Julie Woodhead and Dave Salt, who lost their home and all their possessions during the devastating blaze, were determined to get them afloat again.

Video journalist Wendy Lloyd went along to meet the couple.

They launched an appeal to raise cash to repair the couple's beloved boat and, thanks to donations from local businesses and members of the public, the £5,000 target was achieved. Fire ripped through the vessel at Coven Heath Cruising Club in Cat and Kittens Lane in September last year.

The boat, renamed The Phoenix, is now moored behind Wolverhampton Casuals Football Club in Coven.

The club has allowed the couple to use their facilities and live in their caravan on the grounds.

Julie, aged 46, and Dave, 51, hope to move back in by Easter when the electrics and other finishing touches are complete.

She said today: "The first two or three months were extremely hard and I barely slept, but the response we had after the story went in the newspaper has been overwhelming. We've had just over 40ft of new cabin put on and salvaged the rest."

Among the donations were £750 from Featherstone Prison, £250 from Breast Cancer Care in Walsall and £500 from a sympathetic boater.

Julie said: "On top of that, all the £5 and £10 donations added up. We have written to all those who left an address but to those who didn't, we also want to say a huge thankyou from the bottom of our hearts."

The Phoenix is now a distinctive purple colour. Julie said: "Because all the donated pots of paint were different colours, we decided to mix them all together. Everyone seems to love it." Fellow narrowboaters Howard and Carol Dean, from West Bromwich, co-ordinated the fundraising effort, while a number of local firms rallied to help the heartbroken pair get afloat again.

Brierley Hill firm Corus provided the steel for repairs, Erdington-based Channel Glazing donated new windows and International Paints provided free materials for a respray.

Cox Crane Hire in Oldbury lent a crane to lift the vessel, originally named Emerald, out of the water.

And Rolf Miles, owner of Caggy's Boatyard in Tipton, waived the £20 a week standing fee while the work took place.

Julie added: "We can't thank people enough."

By Nick Pritchard