Boat launch on a village pond near Winchester (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Boat launch on a village pond near Winchester

4:34pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in News By Joseph Curtis

A ROYAL Navy gunboat has been spotted in a village pond near Winchester.

But residents in Crawley are not under threat as it was only a radio-controlled model of HMS Crane.

Children in Crawley Youth Club spent their summer holidays building the model three mornings per week.

Last Thursday (Sept 20) was the culmination of the project when they launched the model in Crawley Pond.

Catherine Hasted, whose children Sam, nine, and Jess, eight, are members of the club, said: “It was great to see it launch as the children have worked so hard over the summer and it was lovely to see them come together with family and friends to test it out.

“It’s also great because it coincided with a lot of conservation work that has been done on the pond recently.”

The children were helped by Dr Patrick Hendra, a former Southampton University lecturer who has helped the children build a model aeroplane last year.

Catherine, of Sparsholt, added: “Patrick is a great teacher. He said he has already ordered a model kit for next year too but he will not reveal what it is until then.

“Credit must also go to Andy Dollin who started the club three years ago and Nicky Breen who co-ordinated the project with Patrick.”