A canal boat owner has been left disheartened and facing a costly repair bill after vandals threw paint all over his beloved barge and stole treasures collected over the years.

On returning from a walk, boater Wayne Siverns – who has lived on the waterways for around 50 years – discovered he’d been broken into and treasured items including pocket watches and antique brass items collected over decades had been stolen.

Upset at the discovery, he went for another walk and when he returned there was more bad news. Vandals had defaced the entire port side of his boat with grey paint.

The boat was moored at Wordsley Junction on the Stourbridge Canal when the incident happened during the daytime on Thursday October 10.

Mr Siverns, who said he used to work as a caretaker at King Edward VI College in Stourbridge, said he has had multiple kind offers of help since the incident, but the proud Darlaston-born boater said he would fund the repairs himself.

He said the incident had put him off staying in the Stourbridge area, but he said he has friends in the locality and he added: “What else am I going to do?”

He told the News the incident was reported to police, but West Midlands Police has not yet responded to a request for comment.