Long narrowboat gets stuck - resembling the events to the Suez Canal crisis

Videos showing a 45-foot long narrowboat stuck between the banks of a narrow English canal have taken internet by storm and prompted comical comparisons to the Suez Canal crisis.

Gordon Chesterman, 62, was left scratching his head and considering abandoning his 20-tonne narrowboat, named Ouse Who, after it got firmly wedged in the waterway near Ely, Cambs.

Gordon, a Cambridge University tutor, had been enjoying a day out on the boat with some family friends when one of them attempted to turn the boat 180 degrees - but misjudged the width of the canal.

The unfortunate incident, which saw the Ouse Who firmly wedged for almost an hour, took place almost a decade ago, in December 2012.

But Gordon has just this week shared photos of the mishap on social media - in light of the 220,000-tonne container vessel, Ever Given, getting stuck in the Suez Canal for the past six days.

Gordon shared the photos on Facebook, writing: "You simply haven't lived until you've blocked a canal - the skipper of the Ever Given has my every sympathy." And Conrad Quilty-Harper, who was with Gordon on the narrowboat on the day it got stuck, also shared the photos on Twitter, writing: "Suez Canal, eat your heart out." The images have spread far and wide on social media - and even legendary comedian Stephen Fry has retweeted them, commenting: "This puts the minor Suez blockage in perspective I think." Recalling the incident, Gordon joked: "At the time, I thought the only way out was to sell the boat, put it on eBay and walk away." Thankfully, unlike the larger-scale Ever Given crisis in the Suez, it only took an hour before a hero farmer in a Land Rover came passing by - and was able to free the Ouse Who with a long rope.

Videos showing a 45-foot long narrowboat stuck between the banks of a narrow English canal have taken internet by storm and prompted comical comparisons to the Suez Canal crisis.

Gordon Chesterman, 62, was left scratching his head and considering abandoning his 20-tonne narrowboat, named Ouse Who, after it got firmly wedged in the waterway near Ely, Cambs.

Gordon, a Cambridge University tutor, had been enjoying a day out on the boat with some family friends when one of them attempted to turn the boat 180 degrees - but misjudged the width of the canal.

The unfortunate incident, which saw the Ouse Who firmly wedged for almost an hour, took place almost a decade ago, in December 2012.

But Gordon has just this week shared photos of the mishap on social media - in light of the 220,000-tonne container vessel, Ever Given, getting stuck in the Suez Canal for the past six days.

Gordon shared the photos on Facebook, writing: "You simply haven't lived until you've blocked a canal - the skipper of the Ever Given has my every sympathy." And Conrad Quilty-Harper, who was with Gordon on the narrowboat on the day it got stuck, also shared the photos on Twitter, writing: "Suez Canal, eat your heart out." The images have spread far and wide on social media - and even legendary comedian Stephen Fry has retweeted them, commenting: "This puts the minor Suez blockage in perspective I think." Recalling the incident, Gordon joked: "At the time, I thought the only way out was to sell the boat, put it on eBay and walk away." Thankfully, unlike the larger-scale Ever Given crisis in the Suez, it only took an hour before a hero farmer in a Land Rover came passing by - and was able to free the Ouse Who with a long rope.