The Tees Wheelyboat club today announced it had managed to raise and secure the funds needed to order a Wheelyboat Mk.III to be based permanently on the river Tees. The Tees Wheelyboats Club set up in 2010, was established to give mobility impaired members of the public of any age, safe and dignified access to motorised boating. The Wheelyboat has been specially designed with a bow door that is hinged and lowers to form a ramp enabling ‘roll-on, roll-off’ access, to accommodate disabled people and wheelchair users in particular. The club operates within the 11 miles of river upstream of the barrage and is based at the River Tees Watersports Centre in Stockton.

Alan Kallagher, Chairman of the Tees Wheelyboats Club said, “We are indebted to those people and organisations that have helped us to raise the funds necessary for us to provide this much needed service. The club depends upon volunteers and it by their efforts that people whose disability has until now prevented them having dignified access onto the river, will now be able to enjoy that experience.”In 2009 and 2010 Last the club supported Stockton Council’s ‘Take To The Tees’ event and last year in excess of 100 people used the boat in the eight days of operation. This year we are planning to have the boat on the water to support the event again in August and we expect demand to be even higher.

After the TTTT the club is planning to operate daily upon demand and additional volunteers are being recruited to crew the boat.

Volunteer Robin Pepper, 19 from Northallerton, said: “There is a lot of demand and we did really well last year with the boats, getting around 100 users over one week.“ These were mainly people from care homes and special education schools. “It’s specifically built with a bow door which acts as a ramp, so it’s roll-on roll-off access. The boat is flat and it’s very safe and doesn’t jerk around.”

Thomas Anderson a volunteer for the club said “I feel this is a great opportunity for myself and others to help those with disabilities and in particular wheelchair-bound people to enjoy the river and its surroundings as much as I do”.

If you would like to get involved contact us through the website.

The club would like to thank, the Banks Group, Tees Valley Community Foundation, Mrs Jennifer Brown, Christ’s Hospital in Sherburn, County Durham, Hospital of God at Greatham, Hartlepool, and the Hadrian Trust for their support towards the new boat.