A ROWING boat used as part of the Brewhouse Theatre's winter production Wind in the Willows has gone missing.

Thieves unchained the boat, used to take spectators on a fantasy-like adventure, from a willow tree in the River Tone.

The white fibre-glass vessel carried pantomime ticket-holders up and down the river while listening to Wind in the Willows commentary in a bid to extend the theatrical experience.

Ken Bussell, boat manager at Somerset Waterways Development Trust, who teamed up with the Brewhouse to offer the attraction, said: “Somebody must've been pretty determined to get that.

“It was bolted up and I felt it was fairly secure so it would've taken some effort to get loose. It looked like somebody had sawed through a branch.

“I'm not sure what happened to the boat, whether somebody wanted it or just wanted to let it run free. It might have hurtled through town and ended up in the countryside.”

Town centre sergeant Tony Crowter added: “The rowing boat below was reported as stolen to us in late December. It was moored on the River Tone just up from the Brewhouse Theatre.

“Our enquiries have so far not revealed what exactly happened.”

Anybody with information should contact police on 101.