Jetskiers are putting lives at risk by using a Canvey beach, it was warned today.

Coastguards spoke after being inundated with calls from swimmers worried about jetskiers just off Shell Beach.

Coastguards claim the riders are travelling too close to the shore while children are playing in the estuary.

Rescue workers have been down to check out the scene but by the time they reached the beach the skiers had left the area.

Now coastguards are hoping Castle Point Council will turn the beach into a Jet Ski free area.

Julie Marston, coastguard watch assistant, said: "It is very dangerous to have jet skiers coming into areas where people are swimming. If a Jet Ski hit someone hard enough they could kill them and it might only be a matter of time before someone is injured or worse at Shell Beach."

Tony Galloway, director of leisure services at Castle Point Council, said: "This is the first I have heard of Jetskiers being a problem but if it is a problem and if a member of the public came to us we would naturally see what we could do to alleviate it."

Published Monday August 19, 2002

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