The Freshwater Five: a new true-crime play touring coastal venues

In 2010 a fishing boat off the coast of the Isle of Wight came to the attention of police. Suspected of using the boat to collect drugs from a container ship and depositing them in Freshwater Bay, the fishermen onboard were arrested.

Who are the Freshwater Five?

Jamie Green, Zoran Dresic, Daniel Payne and Scott Birtwistle were sentenced for conspiracy to import £53m worth of cocaine in 2011. Jon Beere, a local business owner was also convicted for allegedly acting as liaison between the fishermen and those on the container ship.

Together, the men became known as the Freshwater Five and were collectively sentenced to 104 years in prison. They have always professed their innocence. In 2020 their case returned to the court of appeal. New evidence had been uncovered that the men hoped would clear their names. This prompted national media coverage, as well as a podcast series from the Guardian in 2021.

The Freshwater Five are represented by Emily Bolton, an English lawyer with extensive experience of New Orleans Death Row cases. Bolton works to shine a light on miscarriages of justice. Her experience working on the Freshwater case has led her to believe that the UK justice system is designed in a way that makes it nearly impossible to uncover evidence against unjust rulings. Despite compelling evidence, the 2020 appeal was lost. The men and their families continue to fight for freedom to this day.

After the 2020 appeal failed, Bolton stated: “We have no doubt that law enforcement holds further evidence which supports the Freshwater Five’s innocence. Yet our opaque, unaccountable justice system continues to prevent the truth from coming to light.”

nspired by the wildly popular Guardian Today in Focus podcast, The Freshwater Five incorporates storytelling, verbatim accounts, inventive stagecraft, poetry and song. The play presents a detailed theatrical investigation into the men’s tragic downfall.

The play has been developed by award-winning theatre company, Deadman. The company is dedicated to staging contemporary and captivating local narratives - for and from Britain's unheard and underserved coastal communities. The South Coast-based cast and creatives delve into subjects of historical and contemporary smuggling, deteriorating coastal communities, immigration and folklore. The Freshwater Five is told by creatives from the Isle of Wight, who have worked alongside the men themselves and Bolton, to create a faithful, yet artistic, representation of their experiences.

Real World Consequences

According to friends and family the Freshwater Five were all hard-working men, with no prior convictions or drug-related offences. Families of the men have spoken about their surprise and horror at finding their loved ones taken away by police. It is a sobering tale of how life can be upended at any moment.

Sue Beere, wife of Jon Beere, shared her account of how he was arrested one morning. Although he was eventually released, Jon missed 12 years of family life for a crime he did not commit. Sue now works as a Survivor Advocate at APPEAL, a charity and law practice that fights miscarriages of justice. APPEAL was founded by the Freshwater Five’s lawyer Emily Bolton. Although Beere’s husband has been released, their journey of living with a wrongful conviction continues. Their story is one that highlights the difficulties of facing the British justice system.

The Freshwater Five case is one of the largest drug-related cases in British history. This story has accrued national media attention, and continues to be a twisting tale that is tragically true.

Experience the story for yourself and book tickets at Worthing’s Pavilion Theatre, Thursday 9th May.