Jealous boyfriend cuts ‘love boat’ adrift
A LOVE rival cut the mooring ropes of a £450,000 motorboat after seeing his girlfriend on board with another man, a court heard.
Dave Taylor, 54, peered through the porthole of Michael Hay’s boat to spot Hannah Brookes, 26, performing a “sex act” on its millionaire owner, he claimed.
Taylor then cut the ropes attaching the boat, called Coco, to Newcastle quayside and the twinengined launch drifted away on the current of the River Tyne with Ms Brookes and Mr Hay on board.
Taylor also cut the mooring ropes to a smaller powerboat belonging to Mr Hay tied up nearby.
The smaller £100,000 powerboat was retrieved by emergency services on November 29 last year.
Mr Hay managed to take control of his drifting launch and bring it back into harbour. Taylor, of Trimdon Grange, County Durham, pleaded guilty to one count of causing £1,500 worth of criminal damage to the electrical cables on Coco and one count of causing £11,490 worth of criminal damage to the powerboat.
Sarah O’Neill, prosecuting at Newcastle magistrates court, told Taylor: “You were jealous and that’s why you decided to cut the cables. It was clearly your intention in anger to cause this to happen.”
Mr Hay, 58, denied that he had an affair with Ms Brookes.
Giving evidence, he said: “I was aware of him crouching on the pontoon looking into my boat. I thought that he was spying on Hannah. Then she said, ‘Mike we’re moving’, and it was then I realised that he had cut the ropes.”
He added: “Hannah was screaming, shouting ‘What’s happening, am I going to die?’”
Mr Taylor said he had a row with Ms Brookes, a former dancer, before she boarded the boat.
He told the court: “I saw her run on to Coco. I was a little surprised and I went to see if she was ok.
“I looked through the porthole. Hannah was sitting down on the couch and Mike was standing in front of her.”
Taylor told the court he had then seen his girlfriend performing a sex act on Mr Hay.
Ruth Forster, defending, said: “It was part of a jealous love triangle, if you will.”
The case was adjourned next month for sentencing. until Taylor, above, was jealous Ms Brookes, left, was with Michael Hay, right