Anti-migrant campaigner 'Danny Tommo' has accused Left-wing activists of sabotaging a boat he bought to help police the English Channel after it sank.
Daniel Thomas is founder of the Patriot Platform, a group of protesters he describes as 'working-class men who are bricklayers, roofers and carpenters who build the house you live in, the roads you drive on'.
Earlier this year the 37-year-old's followers helped to pay for a small rigid-hulled inflatable boat called The Patriot, which was intended to be used to patrol the sea between England and France.
However, weeks after posting on X in April about how his team had access to the boat, the vessel sank in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
Two months later Thomas set up a crowdfunding appeal to salvage the vessel and suggested, without evidence, that it could have been a result of sabotage by his opponents.
A video was posted on his YouTube channel with the title: 'EMERGENCY: Left Trying To Seize/Destroy Our Boat – Need To Move It ASAP! #ThePatriot'.
He wrote: 'I'm paying £400 myself, just need a little help with the rest if your [sic] able to! If you can help in any way, please support us right now. Every contribution gets the boat out and back into action.
Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas's boat, The Patriot, sinking at Littlehampton Harbour, West Sussex, earlier this year
'This is our boat. Our future. Our resistance.'
It has now been reported that the vessel had got into problems due to mechanical issues at the mouth of the river Arun and began to sink in Littlehampton Harbour, from where officials had to retrieve it.
Mr Thomas collected it, but its present whereabouts are unknown and it has reportedly not been used by him since.
A fundraising campaign on the website GiveSendGo, which has so far received more than £21,000, was set up by Mr Thomas, who promised to use donations for 'new boats and marine equipment for essential water-based operations'.
Money would also go towards fuel, accommodation and storage for the group's 'assets', the appeal states.
Mr Thomas has previously shared on social media an invoice suggesting he was charged £1,775 by Littlehampton Harbour, including £738 for use of a recovery vessel.
He posted a video of the boat on X on August 25 this year accompanied by the message: '"The Patriot" is about to receive a full makeover and will return stronger than ever, ready for the Patriot Platform.
'Thank you to the lads who are about to make her sea worthy again.'
Campaigner Danny Tommo has set up an online fundraising appeal to help restore the vessel
The Patriot, which began to sink in Littlehampton Harbour as a result of mechanical issues
previously served time in prison after being convicted of kidnapping and is a long-time associate of far-Right campaigner Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Father-of-four and roofing company director Mr Thomas has a military background, having served as a tank driver with the King's Royal Hussars.
But his Army career was cut short when he was discharged on medical grounds before seeing any active service.
He has said that his violent past brought him to a turning point and forced him to recast himself as a Christian activist.
He was jailed for two years in 2016 after bursting into the home of Graham Page in Hayling Island, Hampshire, along with two accomplices.
The three men were armed with knives and shouted 'You're coming with us!' before punching the victim, pinning him against a wall and trying to force him from his home.
They had wrongly accused Mr Page of stealing drugs worth £10,000 from them.
The Daily Mail has approached Mr Thomas for comment on the latest claims.
The RNLI has suspended services in Portsmouth after its volunteers suffered physical and online abuse in the wake of anti-migrant protests in the city.
Rescue work volunteers bringing migrants ashore were branded as 'traitors' and some had their details published online.
As a result, Portsmouth Lifeboat Station has been forced to take down its Facebook page while RNLI volunteers have been advised to stop wearing its badge in public to avoid confrontations with anti-migrant protesters.
The station, located in the Eastney area of the city, has now not been in active use since September 10, it has emerged.
The RNLI said it has taken measures to ensure the safety of the city's waters while it is out of service.