You could be fined £1,000 if you don’t have a paddleboard licence

A man was stunned when cops pulled him over for paddleboarding and told him he risked a £1,000 fine for not having a river license.

Ross Mathieson, 35, was out on the River Medway in Maidstone, Kent, with a pal on July 3 when he claims they were approached by police.

The Environment Agency and Kent Police, who were patrolling together, told him he needed a river license to use his paddleboard to avoid being slapped with the hefty fine.

A £65 waterways or river license is required if you want to canoe, kayak or stand-up paddleboard on most rivers and canals in England and Wales, according to PaddleUK.

Failure to have this can result in a fine or being asked to leave the water.

Video footage shows policemen in a boat alongside Ross on his paddleboard, captioned ‘we got pulled over for paddleboarding without a license’, which has since gone viral with more than 607,000 views.

In the clip, you can hear Ross asking the policemen – ‘You need a river license to paddle a paddleboard? That’s crazy.’

Having owned his paddleboard for two years and never once being stopped, the car recovery business owner believes the license is ‘ridiculous’.

Ross says he will ‘absolutely not’ be purchasing a river license and will ‘take his chances’ but hopes to spread awareness as the fine could be ‘devastating’ for people.

Ross, from Rochester, Kent, said: ‘It was disbelief when they first approached me. I thought, ‘Why are we being approached on paddleboards, and am I hearing this right, we need a license?”

‘He said it carries a £1,000 fine, and I said, ‘Are you going to fine us then?’ The officer said: ‘No, you have to be caught a few times.’

‘Next thing they want £65 a year for a river license. It’s pretty crazy, I just think it’s hilarious. I think it’s ridiculous that you need a license. Where do you draw the line? If I turned up with a rubber ring, is that also a vessel that needs licensing?’

The license money goes towards waterways authorities, helping to clean and maintain waterways and repair flood damage.

Ross said: ‘I will absolutely not be buying a river license, not a chance. I’ll take my chances. I do get some regular use out of the paddleboard, but most people use it once a year.

‘Are they going to pay £65 or go through the paperwork of doing a day pass? It just takes the fun out of it. To some people, that fine could be devastating. I’m lucky enough that I just sit there and laugh at it.’

An Environment Agency spokesman said: ‘We manage and maintain more than 600 miles of inland waterways across England, keeping them open and safe for thousands of boaters and others to enjoy.

‘Registration fees for boats, canoes, kayaks, dinghies and paddleboards contribute a reasonable proportion towards the cost of the navigation services and facilities we provide for river users.’

Kent Police confirmed they were patrolling the area with the Environment Agency on July 3.

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