British woman dubbed the Portofino Pirate 'stole £130,000 boat at Italian resort during month long crime spree

Larissa Watson, 50, is also accused of leaving hotels, restaurants and a beauty salon in Italy without paying

    Larissa Watson is facing charges in Italy following her alleged crime spree (Image: Instagram)

A British painter is accused of stealing a £132,000 luxury motor boat at an Italian Riviera resort loved by the rich and famous during an alleged months-long crime spree.
Larissa Watson, 50, was allegedly caught setting off in a Sangermani Daycruiser that belonged to a rental company in Portofino.

A quick-thinking harbour worker is reported to have become suspicious and bounded along the dock to jump on board and steer the vessel back to its mooring.
The artist, dubbed the "Portofino pirate" by local media and described by police as “tall, blonde and refined”, was charged with theft after the incident on Monday.
When she was arrested it appeared she may have been sleeping rough, police say.

        Watson, 50, on board a boat in a photo posted on Instagram (Image: Facebook)

Mum-of-four Watson, from Belfast, is also accused of skipping out on hotel and restaurant bills during earlier stops in Italy, and had been charged with fraud days earlier after she allegedly refused to pay for services at a beauty salon in a nearby town.
In the Portofino incident, she allegedly found the keys on the boat and started up the engine.
The dock worker who intervened alerted the port authority and the local Carabinieri paramilitary police.
Watson initially refused to get off the vessel but "soon surrendered" and was arrested, it was reported.
Carabinieri Captain Simone Clemente told The Times: "She was brought back to the quay where police were waiting. Initially she refused to get off but soon surrendered."

  Watson is accused of leaving hotels and restaurants in Italy without paying (Image: Instagram)

He added: "When she was arrested she had no cards, no money and a photocopy of her passport. She had a change of clothes in a backpack and might have been sleeping rough.

"That said, she was well turned out, although that's because she had been to the beauty parlour."
He added in an interview with the Daily Telegraph: "Nothing like this has happened before in Portofino, it's very unusual.

"By looking through her Facebook and Instagram accounts we found that she had done navigation courses in the past and knew how to handle a boat."
Police said Watson's family reported her missing in May and following her arrest she told the British Embassy she did not want to return home to the UK.

                      The mum is an award-winning artist from Belfast (Image: Instagram)

Police claim she had been in Italy since February and had been reported in various parts of the country for leaving hotels or restaurants in MIlan, Ventimiglia and Reggio Calabria without paying.
On Saturday she was charged with fraud after she allegedly refused to pay a £130 bill at a beauty salon in upmarket Santa Margherita Ligure, near Portofino.

Captain Clemente told the Times: "One night she wandered into a hotel in La Spezia, pretended to be a guest and got a key, then fled the next day after she was found sleeping in a room."
In March she was arrested after she allegedly tried to leave a hotel in Reggio Calabria without paying.

She is also accused of leaving a restaurant in Ventimiglia without paying in April.
Italian newspaper La Riviera called her the "Portofino pirate", adding: "The double life of Larissa Watson seems to have come straight out of a film.

Local media have dubbed Watson the "Portofino pirate" (Image: Instagram)

“In Britain she’s an esteemed artist, in Italy a thief who’s been under scrutiny by the police for some time.”

Watson posted a number of photos and updates on her Facebook and Instagram pages during her travels through Italy and neighbouring countries in recent months.

In February she used the hashtag #learningtoliveagain while in Palermo, where she was pictured sailing. A post on Mother's Day in March said she missed her children.

One snap taken in Rome in late March showed a margarita with the caption: "The most pretty and disappointing marguerita [sic] ever! May as well have fairy liquid in slush - tastes like there is no alcohol in it at all."

Days earlier she apparently posted an old photo of herself holding a silver trophy and wearing a blue dress. She wrote: "Happy times when I had decent clothes to wear, a great car to drive a home and a clean comfortable bed every night - offshore racing - winning in style!"


The image was originally posted on her Instagram account, which said it was taken at the National Yacht Club Dun Laoghaire in Dublin.

Watson was released following her arrest and is due in court next month (Image: Instagram)

Another recent Facebook post complained that "an officious little girl" had thrown her out of a "Jamie Oliver launch party" at the "prince's palace".

She recently posted a number of updates on her personal profile and a page for her lifestyle brand, Goddess and Swift, claiming she had been a victim of crime.

In one post she claimed her iPhone, passport and bank cards had been "taken" in Italy. In others she claimed her bag and make-up were stolen, and two fraudulent bank cards were linked to her account.
Watson was released following her arrest in Portofino and is due to appear in court next month.

According to a biography on riseart.com, award-winning painter Watson has exhibited extensively in Britain, Europe, the US and Japan.


It adds: "Her work is presently exploring transparency, reflection and perspective through personal, social and environmental contexts such as landscape."
She was born in Canterbury, Kent, before moving to Belfast as a child. She attended the University of Ulster's School of Art and Design.

Portofino is one of Italy's most exclusive resorts thanks to its picturesque harbour, crystal clear waters, pastel-coloured homes, high-end shops and fine dining.

The fishing village, near Genoa in north-west Italy, lures tycoons, film stars and fashion models.

Mirror Online has contacted Watson for comment.