FOR more than 1,000 years, a ferry operated at remote Bablock Hythe on the River Thames.

But since the floods of 2007 the current boat has been languishing on the river bank in disrepair.

Now it is hoped Bablock Hythe’s ferry will soon be back up and running.

Four years ago, floodwater swept the boat out of the River Thames and on to the land where it has sat ever since.

Peter Kelland, landlord of local pub The Ferryman Inn, has launched a campaign to get it back up and running.

Mr Kelland, who has run the pub for 18 years, said: “There is a novelty value to it and it will be useful for people walking the Thames.

“After the floods we had enough things to do to get the pub back open again.

“We have lacked the money to do it up but it will be nice to get it back again.”

Using the ferry can take eight miles off a journey from Bablock Hythe to Oxford. The nearest bridge crossing is five miles away at Eynsham. But now Oxfordshire County Council has asked Mr Kelland to get the ferry going again because it forms part of a cycle route through the county.

And Mr Kelland is looking for a sponsor to help him pay the estimated £9,000 to restore the boat and get the ferry up and running.

He said: “The boat needs a new motor, a lick of paint and new seats to get it river- worthy.”

Once the ferry is up and running Mr Kelland aims to hire a ferryman to help him run regular scheduled trips over the river in summer for walkers and cyclists at a one-waycost of 50p.

He does not yet know how regular the trips could be but said he may also run some limited crossings during winter as well.

Mr Kelland’s wife Wendy said: “We have had lots of people asking for it to return and it seems quite a shame not to have a ferry here.”

The ferry used to be capable of taking cars as well as foot passengers across the Thames, until the boat sank four times in as many years in the early 1960s. As a result it was refused a vehicle carrying licence in 1964.

Historians have found records showing use of the crossing as early as 946 and it was used as a river port by the Saxons. In the 13th century it provided Benedictine monks with transport between Eynsham Abbey, Northmoor Church and Abingdon Abbey.

In 1981 the crossing was revived by Frank Bye the previous landlord of the Ferry Inn, as it was then known.

A bridge has twice been proposed at the site, in 1983 and 2003, but each time the plans were scrapped because of the cost.

Mike Hill, 50, who lives in nearby Eaton, said: “The ferry is a local feature and it is great to restore what has been lost but it would have to be very carefully considered.”