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A black man whose passion is taking his leisure boat out on the Thames claims he is being repeatedly stopped by police because of the colour of his skin.

London plasterer Michael Sylvester, 44, says his boat has been boarded by suspicious police up to 40 times in a month.

One one occasion he was stopped several times in a day, he claims.

The father-of-two believes he is being targeted by officers looking for terrorists.

He says boating friends at his marina who are white say they have never been stopped.

Mr Sylvester, a keen Thames boatman for seven years, said: “Guaranteed if I was white I wouldn’t get hassled like this”.

He filmed the latest incident last Friday lunchtime, when a Met officer used a rope to board his 18ft, £13,000 SeaDoo Challenger near the O2 arena while he was out with friends and family.

Passengers on board included his two young nephews and a friend’s 11-year-old child.

Mr Sylvester, from Plaistow, said the officer boarded his boat without his permission and started questioning who was on the boat.

In the video Mr Sylvester can be heard asking the officer what he has done wrong.

He says: “I’ve been stopped by these people before.”

The officer replies: “I’d like to know who is on the boat, where you’ve been, what you’re doing, if you can answer the question about who is on the boat..”

Mr Sylvester responds: “My name is Michael Sylvester. Check me out. I’ve been coming out on this water for seven years. I get stopped four times normally every time I come out here so they know who I am.”

Mr Sylvester, told The Sun: “They’re profiling me because they think I fit the description of a terrorist. It’s pure racism.

“White people who moor at the marina tell me they’ve never been stopped and say it’s a ‘black thing’.

“I love the boat but I’m thinking of selling it. Every time I take it out there’s drama.”

Mr Sylvester bought the boat seven years ago and has used it to travel all over Europe. It is named Charmaine after his daughter.

The Met has rejected the claims.

Police said the stop was part of routine patrols due to “safety concerns” because the people on board were not wearing life jackets in “strong swell”.

A Met spokesman said: “Due to the swell conditions and the potential of damage being caused to the boats being in close proximity, the officer stepped on to the vessel to continue the conversation in a safe and practical way.

“Having already engaged in conversation with the occupants of the vessel, the officer felt there was implied consent for him to board in order to continue the conversation.

“After it became clear the owner of the vessel did not want police on board, the officer got off at the earliest opportunity.

“The vessel was not stopped under any power and was not at any stage deemed to be a terrorist threat.”