RETIRED probation officer Carol Krebs is leading the fight to stop boaters on the Kennet and Avon Canal being evicted if they do not have a permanent mooring.

She says waterway versions of traffic wardens are keeping tabs on the boaters, who are issued with warnings of eviction by email and text.

Ms Krebs, who has lived on the canal in Devizes for 20 years, was part of a group of 200 boaters who marched in Downing Street to protest about the way the Canal and River Trust is enforcing the 1995 British Waterways Act.

She says that originally the act was worded so that boaters were not forced to leave the area where their children went to school or where they worked, but since the CRT took over from the British Waterways Authority in 2012 it has taken a much harder line.

In May last year the CRT began refusing to re-license boaters who do not have a permanent mooring, for not moving far enough or often enough. Boater families say has put them under severe pressure as they cannot afford a permanent mooring and even if they could there are not enough available.

Ms Krebs said: "CRT employ patrol officers who walk or cycle the towpath electronically checking the movement of boats. Volunteer boat checkers, called rangers, are used to oversee the movement of boaters. CRT has given them a charter to spy on boaters.

"They have introduced guidelines that must be complied with or the boater will lose the boat licence. They require that a boater without a home mooring has to move the boat from its original place of mooring for more than ten miles and to travel in one direction.

"The distance to be travelled is not clarified in official documents, as this will put CRT in breach of the British Waterways Act 1995."

Boaters must have a licence from CRT to allow them to moor and Ms Krebs also pays to use a private mooring near Lower Wharf in Devizes but she is still subject to the rules which says she must constantly move her boat.

National Bargee Travellers Association chairman Pamela Smith, 59, who is moored at Froxfield, said: "It is a complete injustice. This is hitting all of us hard but especially families with children. It is just cruel.

"The law clearly states that people without a permanent mooring should move on after 14 days and the vast majority of boaters are happy to abide by that.

"This new policy is very vague and does not clearly say what the minimum distances are or what patterns of travel should be followed.”

Matthew Symonds, boating relationship, policy and strategy manager at the Canal & River Trust, said: "Continuous cruising is a way of life that can be incredibly rewarding, but it comes with responsibilities.

"As well as having to empty your toilet and fill up with water, you need to move at least every 14 days on a continuous journey, not staying for long periods in the same area. This has always been the case, and people agree to it when they buy their boat licence. Many people love this lifestyle and recognise that if you have to get somewhere regularly, like work or school, it can be tough and take a bit more planning.

"If there is an emergency, such as an illness or a breakdown, boaters should talk to our team who can help to work out a solution. Refusing to re-licence a boat is the last thing we want, which is why we’ve started being more proactive in keeping boaters aware and giving them longer to sort things out, but we have to be fair to everyone."