Student denies blame in lock-keeper sacking

A WOMAN says she is being unfairly blamed for the dismissal of Hambleden’s lock-keeper.

Simon Shepherdson, who lived and worked at the lock on the River Thames for almost three decades, was recently fired by the Environment Agency.

An online petition has been launched by Susanne Williams, from Slough, calling on the agency to reinstate Mr Shepherdson and claiming he had been the subject of a “very targeted personal hate campaign”.

The petition, which has more than 1,300 signatures, blames the owner of a “pop-up bar”, saying it caused “chaos” last summer with people swimming in the river and boaters mooring up to drink, blocking access to the lock.

Minna Hughes, who was then running the Lockdown Lodge bar and restaurant on private land off the Thames towpath, has been identified on community Facebook groups where Mr Shepherdson’s supporters are drumming up support.

Many have made personal comments about her and her father Chris, with whom she ran the business, which she says is hurtful.

Miss Hughes, 19, who traded for just 24 days, says she contacted Mr Shepherdson’s bosses after he repeatedly and angrily complained to her about the public’s behaviour.

She says she did her best to address the problem but it wasn’t her responsibility as it wasn’t happening on her site and Mr Shepherdson should have sought his superiors’ help if there was a problem.

Instead, she claims, he called dozens of times or sent text messages and emails threatening to fine her, which he didn’t have the power to do.

Miss Hughes, who is now in her first year at university, said this was stressful and interfered with her business.

The lock-keeper stopped when she complained and she considered the matter settled until October, when the agency called her asking her to explain what had happened.

She shared Mr Shepherdson’s messages with an independent investigator who said the agency was “reviewing” his conduct but wouldn’t say if there had been other complaints.

Miss Hughes, who lives near Hambleden, said she didn’t know he had been fired until she saw the petition.

It says: “Simon Shepherdson has been at Hambleden for the best part of his 29-year career.

“He has now lost his job through one person creating a hate campaign against him, whipping up a few spurious supporting statements, and we are losing one of the best lock-keepers the river has known.

“The Environment Agency has shown no compassion and taken no independent reviews of his work.”

One supporter said they were “shocked at Mr Shepherdson’s dismissal, adding:

“We witnessed the chaos caused by the pop-up bar. On more than one occasion we were unable to use the lock due to boaters drinking in their boats while moored.

“On leaving the lock, we once nearly struck a young lad who was swimming across the river in front of the lock... why on earth was a pop-up bar allowed next to the river with the potential to get boaters drunk?

“If Simon tried to move people, he did the right thing for everyone’s safety. He can be assertive, and rightly so, when people are rude and ignore his advice.”

Another said: “After the end of lockdown in the summer, there was a significant increase in river traffic, swimmers and walkers with a pop-up bar to boot.

“It’s surprising he wasn’t given additional support to police the area, given that it was foreseesable that a significant increase in activity would occur. Why did the Lockdown Lodge not fence off its temporary jetty or erect warning signs? It was all left to Simon to stop children from drowning and it seems he hasn’t been given due process.”

One Facebook post reads: “The girl running the pop-up played the victim and sent in complaints about [Simon] bullying and harassing her.

“Got a couple of her customers to write in and complain about [him] being rude and aggressive. They put a very big and well-crafted case together.”

There were numerous derogatory remarks about her and her family. Miss Hughes said police found nothing wrong when Mr Shepherdson asked them to visit the site, which is owned by the Copas Partnership, and the Environment Agency said she wasn’t to blame for the public’s behaviour. She complied with the licence issued by Wokingham Borough Council.

She said she put up signs as well as messages on her website and marketing material urging people to act responsibly.

Miss Hughes said: “I don’t want this to descend into mud-slinging but the wording of that petition is extremely unfair.

“I never set out to cause problems when I spoke to the Environment Agency — I just wanted Mr Shepherdson to stop contacting me. I would sometimes get a stream of messages right up until we closed, even when I’d told him who else he could call.

“I knew the pop-up bar wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but didn’t want to impose on anyone. I wanted it to be a positive thing for the community and tried to work with the lock-keeper to address the concerns he raised before it opened.

“He was very rude from the outset and I doubt he’d have talked to the organisers of the Rewind Festival or Henley Royal Regatta in the same way.

“We did as much as possible but couldn’t police what others were doing on public land. It was a hot summer and this was the same week that people were criticised for jumping off Henley Bridge so it was happening everywhere.

“I’d long since moved on when the investigators contacted me and all I did was co-operated.

“Now I’m seeing all these abusive comments from people who’ve never met me and don’t know my side but have just been swept up in the emotion of it all.

“If people are upset about his dismissal and want to start a petition, that’s fine but it should be based on accounts of his good character and shouldn’t be about trashing my reputation to save his.”

A manager for the agency told Miss Hughes: “Whatever the background to this matter is, it is very disappointing that members of the community have directed abusive online comments towards [you], which are neither appropriate nor justified.”

Mr Shepherdson confirmed he was appealing against his dismissal but wouldn’t comment further.

The Environment Agency confirmed that Mr Shepherdson had left his job.

It said it had received no complaints about Lockdown Lodge and had had no concerns about people’s behaviour at the lock while the business was operating.

It would not comment further.