Hundreds of revellers were trapped on a party boat – after it got wedged under a bridge at high tide.
The £315-an-hour Golden Sunrise was cruising along the Thames in central London when it got stuck under the iconic structure at 10.15pm on Wednesday.
Onlooker Alex Gee, 38, said: “We had just finished up at one of the riverside pubs and saw this boat just around the bridge.
“It looked like it was stuck and there were guys sitting on the roof to measure how many centimetres were spare.
“Four different police cars turned up, and the RNLI.
“We checked the tide times and high tide last night was at 9.30pm so it was still really high when he was trying to go under it.
“Eventually the tide went down a bit, and he sped away towards Putney.
“They had to close the bridge while it was all going on due to health and safety, but the people on the boat were happy enough – in fact they were loving the crowd gathering and watching and taking pictures.”
The party boat – complete with a dance floor, sun deck and DJ booth – is run by Capital Pleasure Boats, which offer tours of the Thames in four boats for office parties and club nights.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “Marine police unit officers attended and established that the high tide had caused the aerial of the vessel had become lodged in the underneath of the bridge.
“It was dislodged a short while later. There was no damage caused to the bridge or the vessel and no arrests were made.
“Temporary road closures were put in place whilst the bridge was inspected for any damage caused.”
