Yacht husband faces £10,000 bill

The yacht, pictured on sling, had been used as a family home

A man who scuppered a yacht to stop it being sold by his estranged wife faces a £10,000 bill from the salvagers.

Mark Bridgwater, 49, was angry that his wife Tracey, 42, advertised the 53ft ketch Rebel at a knockdown price.

He reportedly smashed open valves below the water line to sink the £60,000 yacht on Dartmouth harbour in Devon on Friday night.

A quayside crane was used to recover it from the water on Wednesday in an operation expected to cost £10,000.

Dartmouth Harbourmaster Captain David White said that there was no doubt it was deliberately scuttled.

He said: "The Dart Harbour Navigation Authority at the moment is footing all the costs.

Only the masts were visible after the boat sank Enlarge Image

"It would be totally unfair to pass on the costs of an act of deliberate sabotage."

Mrs Bridgwood advertised the yacht in the Torquay-based Herald Express newspaper last week for a "quick sale".

The advert read: "Ocean-going 53ft sail boat. Fibreglass. All the extras. Make a nice riverside home. Owner must sell quickly. Hence £40,000. Any quick cash offer seriously considered."

Her husband is then believed to have used an axe to destroy a seacock, a valve to allow water into the engine to cool it.

Mrs Bridgwood, a waitress at a hotel in the town, told a newspaper: "There was an argument between us. It was a beautiful boat - and he sunk it."

The yacht had been used to sail around the Mediterranean and as a family home.

Mr Bridgwood was unavailable for comment.