$newxml = qq~
          <water_sports>
<Tenders_+_toys>- 1x 4.45m Tender Williams 445 Sportjet
- 1x 3.51m Tender Arimar Top Line 360
- 1xJet ski Yamaha GP1300R
- banana/kayak
- water skiing/snorkelling equipment
</Tenders_+_toys>
</water_sports>
~;


$newxml =~ s/\+/and/g;


my $xml = new XML::Simple;

my $data = $xml->XMLin(\$newxml);

print $data->{'water_sports'}->{'Tenders_and_toys'};