A RETIRED Port Seton man has been left “angry and hurt” after vandals set fire to his boat at the village’s harbour.

Gordon Hunnam, 66, bought his pleasure boat The Dolphin for £5,400 six years ago for fishing trips with his grandchildren.

For some time, it had been on dry land at the harbourside and had become a “gang hut” for youngsters.

On October 18, Mr Hunnam was at home when he was alerted to the blaze.

“At nine o’clock I was sitting at home watching TV and my son came in to say the fire engines were at my boat,” he told the Courier.

Mr Hunnam went down to the harbour, where he said a member of the fire and rescue service told him that The Dolphin appeared to have been deliberately set on fire.

“There was very little I could do; the boat was gutted, a write-off,” he said. “It would cost more than I could afford to make it ship-shape again.”

The dad-of-three spent 30 years as a fisherman and his father, Alexander Hunnam, was harbourmaster in Port Seton until the early 2000s.

Mr Hunnam now fears that his vessel may not be the last to be targeted by fire starters.

“Kids have been up to no good, up to mischief, for a few months now,” he said.

“I told them not to touch anything but six or seven months ago the windows were kicked out of the cabin.

“If you call the police they can’t do anything, they can’t be everywhere.”

Mr Hunnam’s boat had been out of the water for the last year while he cared for his wife Sandra, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

He checked on the boat every evening at 6pm and noticed it was becoming something of a “gang hut” for young boys.

On the day of the fire, Mr Hunnam had checked on the boat as usual but this time noticed an older group of teenagers hanging around.

“This needs to be highlighted for the sake of other people’s boats and so everyone knows what their kids are up to,” he told the Courier.

Mr Hunnam has been left out of pocket since the blaze, with his insurance covering only third-party damage when in the water.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service said they were alerted to the incident at 8.15pm and attended with two fire crews.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 0955 of October 19, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”