British Waterways is not going to take action against the boater who struck a lock gate on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Devizes causing £45,000 damage.
The entire Caen Hill flight of locks was closed for over two weeks following the incident on June 22.
Two boats were using lock 24 when the damage occurred.
British Waterways said a hire boat got through the left side of the lock but a private boat struck the right gate.
The flight reopened last Friday after British Waterways fitted new gates to the damaged lock, which is near the bottom of the flight.
Mark Stephens, waterway manager, said: “British Waterways assesses every incident of damage to the canal on an individual basis and takes action to recoup costs as appropriate. For example we have successfully recovered insurance monies to help us to fix and restore bridges that have been damaged by speeding boaters.
“In this case damage to the lock gate was sustained through an unfortunate accident, was reported promptly by those involved and the damaged lock gate was scheduled to be replaced as soon as the summer season was over and planned maintenance works could get under way.”
The gate was due for replacement and it would have been unreasonable to try to recover the cost of a new gate.
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