Devil's Hole have been warned to claim them before the craft are destroyed.

Works and Engineering officials, fed up with the punts getting in the way of working boats, say their owners must turn up at the ministry on Wednesday morning next week or risk having their craft moved and then disposed of.

Ministry spokeswoman Ms Jane Brett said: "This has never happened at this dock before. But when we issue one of these warnings the owners usually move the boats quite quickly.

"If not, we move them and keep them for about a month.''