A JUDGE who has spent the last five years living in a canal narrowboat while presiding over the much-acclaimed modernisation of Gloucester Crown Court is setting sail for harbours new.

Jamie Tabor QC was appointed resident judge of Gloucester crown court in 2003 and rather than move home from Glastonbury, Somerset, or buy a flat in Gloucester he decided to live on board his boat on the Sharpness canal.

He has regularly ridden from his mooring on his mountain bike - sometimes taking his dog Milly with him to court.

The judge would see his wife Jenny and daughters Hetty, 27, Juliet, 25, and Venetia, 21, only when he went home at weekends.

Judge Tabor, whose last day at Gloucester is this Friday, has been credited by lawyers and officials with introducing 'huge improvements' at the Victorian courthouse - bringing it into the modern high-tech age.

He is to start work at Bristol and Taunton crown courts on Jan 7 and says he will miss the close knit court community at Gloucester - but will be glad to get back to his wife and family.

"I have lived away from home for five years now and that's a long time to be away from your wife," said Judge Tabor, 57.

"If it was not for the commuting between Gloucester and Somerset I would have stayed - wild horses wouldn't have dragged me away.

"I have always been a narrow boater. I spent my honeymoon on a canal boat - because I couldn't afford anything else; it was my dad's.

"When I got the appointment at Gloucester crown court I couldn't afford to buy anything more than a modest flat in the city so I thought living on my boat would be more fun.

"The countryside is my thing and I love living in the middle of it. I move the boat up and down the canal every so often. The other day I woke up and found a kingfisher on my bows, which was something very special.

"But it will be nice for my wife and lovely for me to be based back at home again. Going home at weekends to find 24 things that need repairing was becoming irksome."

In his time at Gloucester Judge Tabor has played a major role in revolutionising and modernising the court - becoming the first judge ever to use a laptop in the courtroom during cases.

He has personally paid for computers and printers for barristers to use in their robing room and introduced a policy of having the main police officer in each case at court for every progress hearing to ensure they progress smoothly.

Tributes were paid to the judge by lawyers and other court officials when he was presented with an apt gift - a painting of Gloucester docks.

Barrister Simon Burns, on behalf of the Bar, said Judge Tabor had presided over 'huge improvements' at the court.

"You are the first ever judge here to live on the river bank," he said. "You are also the only judge to use a mountain bike to ride to this crown court.

"You are the first judge, too, to use a laptop computer in court."

Adrian Foster, head of the Crown Prosecution Service in the county, said "The change in the five years you have been here has been amazing. You have introduced the modern progressive judiciary in Gloucester - despite the age of the building."

Solicitor Joe Maloney added "You have made a significant contribution to the administration of justice in Gloucester. You are regarded as fair and just and we are all sorry to see you go."