Man tries to build floating pub 'for a bit of fun'

The man behind a "lot of ridiculous stuff" has told the BBC he is trying to build a floating pub.

Will Bower, from Angmering in West Sussex, said he wants to create the buoyant boozer for his father's 60th birthday.

"[My dad] loves being on the water. He loves beer. I thought what better idea than to make a floating pub?" Bower said.

Bower plans to float the pub on the River Adur once he has finished building it.

He has purchased materials and building is currently under way.

"The dream is to float it somewhere and then have people with paddleboards or boats row up - and it's me and my dad there in sailor caps having a good time," he says.

Bower said after he designed the pub - which will sit on a floating pontoon - and purchased the materials, he struggled to find a mooring for it.

"There is a lot of red tape," he continued.

"A lot of people [were] saying... it's going to be too big. It's a step too far.

"[I am going] to prove them wrong."

Arun District Council, who Bower had requested permission from, said: "While it's certainly a creative idea and we appreciate the imagination, our ponds and lakes are relatively modest in size and not suitable for testing a floating pub due to safety and environmental concerns.

"We wish Will every success in getting his venture afloat at a more suitable location," it added.

Owing to issues with getting permission, Bower now plans to float the pub on the tidal River Adur - between Upper Beeding and Shoreham-by-Sea - where the public has a right of navigation.

Bower, a YouTuber, says he has built other "ridiculous stuff", including a bath car and a fake skip in Worthing High Street which he slept in.

"The skip was fun," he told the BBC.

"The hypothesis was that skips are the most invisible things in Britain."

Bower added that the night on Worthing High Street was a "little bit sketchy", although he said he enjoyed it.

"At one point a bin lorry pulled up right next to it and I thought I was going to get thrown in the back."

Bower says people "absolutely love" his creations, such as when he drives his bath car around his home town.

"It's just a bit of fun.

"Hopefully the pub can brighten someone's day."

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