A BOAT owner who lost everything when his £60,000 vessel sank to the bottom of the Thames might soon be able to move back into his home.

Workers are currently pumping out the water accumulated in the boat that sank to the bottom of the Thames last week, after hitting the Botley Road bridge in Oxford.

Environment Agency spokeswoman Elisa Orchard has said the recovery phase for the stranded boat is "progressing as planned".

She said: "Our contractor is in the process of pumping out and disposing the dirty water which has accumulated in the vessel.

"We aim to remove the boat from site as soon as possible although exact timing is still to be determined."

Boat owner John Simmonds lost everything when his boat hit the Botley Road bridge in Oxford.

He believed it was an act of sabotage but the Environment Agency said it was caused by bad weather. 

Mr Simmonds, 35, has since been given hundreds of pounds worth of donations from Oxford Mail readers.

He is now waiting for the Environment Agency to give him an access date to his boat, which is secured on dry land by the bridge after being removed from the river by engineers last Friday.