A British man sunk his $200,000 yacht in southwest England Wednesday rather than let his estranged wife sell it for a knockdown price after the couple decided to break up.

Briton Mark Bridgewood, 49, was so angry that his wife had put his luxury boat up for a low price that he rowed out to the vessel under the cover of darkness and sank it in Dartmouth Harbor, in southwest England.

The final straw in the couple's bitter break up came when Tracey Bridgewood advertised the yacht in a local newspaper last week, saying she wanted a quick sale and was prepared to let the yacht go for $72,000.

After that, Bridgewood armed himself with an axe and scuttled the yacht, called "Rebel".

"It's sacrilege to have a boat of this quality sunk on the bottom," harbor master Capt. David White said. "It's like tearing up 5-pound notes and throwing them away, it really is."

Authorities floated the vessel to the surface and pumped out water before taking it to a nearby boat yard.

"It must have been one hell of an argument," a resident said.

Police plan to charge Bridgewood $18,000 for sinking the yacht and for recovery costs.

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