A reward has been offered to catch pranksters who untied an 80-tonne barge, letting it drift dangerously towards a bridge with a person asleep on board.

Puppeteer Mhari Smith, 25, saved herself from sinking by flinging a tow rope around a wooden post as the barge floated towards the bridge on the River Thames at Abingdon.

She had been asleep on the floating puppet theatre when vandals released the tow-rope. She awoke when the vessel crashed into the river bank and only just managed to stop a collision with Abingdon Bridge.

Today, furious puppet theatre owners Gren and Juliet Middleton offered a £100 reward for information leading to the conviction of the pranksters. Mrs Middleton said: "Luckily, Mhari managed to get the rope on to a small wooden post which only just took the weight. If it hadn't, the boat would have collided with the bridge and probably sunk, taking Mhari down with it."

Her husband added: "This was an incredibly stupid thing for someone to do. Mhari is very shocked and upset."

Mr Middleton said the collision with the bank caused about £500 damage to the gangplank.

Police have vowed to step up riverside patrols in the area.

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