Plain sailing pensioner John sets up home on a boat - despite being scared of water and being unable to swim

John Haydon, 74, from Bloxwich, has not been on a boat for more than 60 years and is so scared of water that he's done no more than dip his toe in the sea since he was a teenager.

The pensioner hit his head while learning to swim 65 years ago and nearly drowned, leaving him with a crippling fear of open water.

But he's also harboured a secret desire to captain a ship and in a brave bid to tackle his phobia, he decided to sell up his house and buy a narrow boat, named the Britannia.

Mr Haydon said: "I know it seems a bit odd for someone who's so scared of water to start living on a boat, but it's the only way I've beaten my fears.

"When I was a young boy, I always dreamed of being a sea captain, but when I nearly drowned when learning to swim, I couldn't face getting back in the water again.

"I was torn between my love for boats and feeling as though I couldn't even think about getting on one.

"But when my wife passed away two years ago, I realised life is short, and I had to seize the day.

"So I decided the best thing to do was to force myself to face my fears - so I sold my house and bought a boat."

The grandad of six had always dreamt of being a captain of his own vessel, despite never setting foot on one before.

Mr Haydon, who is moored at Mercia Marina in Derby, has spent the past six months learning how to drive the boat and is hoping to finally set sail at the end of this year.

He continued: "After what happened I was too frightened to get on a boat again, I wouldn't even swim on holiday unless I was certain my feet could touch the ground.

"I've always been fascinated with boats and ships though so when it was time to downsize I decided to give it a go.

"I had to sell all of my furniture, I couldn't take my favourite arm chair with me unfortunately.

"People often think a small narrow boat will be cramped but it's actually a bit of a Tardis and feels really spacious.

"I brought my Shih Tzu dog Dizzy with me too, he's scared of the water but we've both combated our fears together and luckily neither of us have fallen in yet.

"It's been a fantastic experience so far, I've learnt so much already and can't wait to venture to other marina's soon."

After his wife, Ann, passed away nearly two years ago Mr Haydon realised life was too short not to fulfil his lifelong dream.

And after meeting his long lost sister, Diane Messer, 60, from Tennessee, in 2014, John sprung his boat goal into action before finally buying the Britannia in February.

"When I lost Ann my whole world came crashing down, I didn't know what to do with myself," he said.

"Buying the narrow boat has been the best thing I've ever done, there's a great community here and everyone gets on so well.

"My sister and her husband, Doug, travelled all the way from Tennessee to stay on the boat with me, we had such a laugh.

"I've learnt a lot about my mum in recent years, she left our family home when I was just three, but now I know a big part of her life was travelling.

"She went to France, the Caribbean and New York all by boat, now I feel like I'm following in her footsteps."

Living on the narrow boat hasn't always been plain sailing for Mr Haydon though, luckily his new partner, also named Ann, has been on hand to help.

He said: "I met Ann when I went to a dance class by myself for the first time last year, she was the teacher.

"I had two left feet but she's taught me some moves and is always there to help when things go wrong.

"All of my friends and family told me over and over not to live on a narrow boat, but Ann backed me every step of the way.

"We've had some great laughs, when I first switched the heating on for the first time the whole boat filled with smoke.

"I thought the Britannia was going down but thankfully it was just the old diesel burning.

"I've also had one to many drinks last month too and ended up super gluing a duck onto the roof.

"I managed to get lost on the marina too, it's all fun and games though, there's never a dull moment when you live on a narrow boat.

"You could offer me a five star luxury hotel and I wouldn't swap it for this.

"I couldn't be happier after ticking this off my bucket list."