Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Food And Drink, Crime
Emily Brown
Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, or 51-year-old intoxicated woman who just stole a ferry? Well, according to the latter, it's both.
Magistrates learned that Alison Whelan had been drinking for two days when she boarded the 50-foot ferry, the Dart Princess, and declared herself captain to police officers who were stood on the shore.
It wasn't just alcohol she'd been consuming, as a court also heard that she'd been eating the hallucinogenic nightshade, which is poisonous, before she went on her joyride.
Advert
The bizarre scene unfolded on the ferry located on the River Dart in Devon, where Whelan and a companion had sought shelter on the night of 10 September, 2011.
While on the boat, Whelan called an ambulance with fears she was experiencing a seizure.
Police arrived at the scene at 3:50am, but the 51-year-old then cast off in the stolen ferry and told police she was a 21st century pirate, making reference to Johnny Depp's beloved Disney franchise as she shouted "I'm Jack Sparrow."
Authorities were forced to try and catch the vessel in a chase which lasted more than an hour, with 30 people, including police, ambulance, lifeboat and coastguards staff, all trying to stop the antics of the drunken 'pirate'.
Advert
As the ferry drifted on the river, it struck a catamaran called Force Majeure and another moored vessel called the Tomcat, causing damage to both.
Whelan's trip also ended up causing up to £1,500 worth of damage to the ferry.
The Dart Princess was eventually secured and taken back to shore by Torbay's lifeboat, though Paignton Pleasure Cruises stressed that it 'could have been serious' if the boat had floated out to sea with Whelan and the companion on board.
Whelan was arrested, and at the time claimed she'd untied some ropes on the ferry because she kept tripping over them. Had they not been caught, Whelan claimed she and her crew would have ended up in St. Tropez.
Advert
Ashely Lane, Paignton Pleasure Cruises' operations manager, said it was a 'shock to the system' to receive the call about the stolen ferry at 3am.
He described the case as a 'total one-off bizarre incident which we have never experienced before', adding: "The fact is that, had circumstances been different tide-wise, it could have been serious. She could have seriously been injured had it gone out of the river."
Following her arrest, Whelan was found guilty of aggravated vehicle taking and sentenced to 112 days behind bars.