Jet ski "plague" making life a nightmare, says villager

6:09pm Wednesday 12th December 2007

A VILLAGE "plagued" by jet skis is how one Brean resident expressed her anger at the new wave of extreme sports taking place at the seaside resort.

The Weekly News reported recently that villagers had been left divided by a debate raging over the future of the popular seafront.

On one hand, some residents and councillors had shown concerns that traditional bucket and spade pastimes seemed to be under threat, but opponents argue they wanted to see the new sports at the beach to bring it into the 21st Century.

Brean Parish councillor Hilary Guy was worried that new activities such as jet skis and kite buggies would put holidaymakers and residents in danger and affecting homeowners' quality of life.

A public meeting was held in Brean on Friday (December 7) to discuss the issue, with a packed house waiting to hear from representatives from the land yachting club and the South West Association of Traction Kiting.

One alarmed resident at the meeting, Rowena Corcos, said: "The meeting was hugely attended, but tellingly no one was present representing the jet skiers.

"The general discussion amongst residents was overwhelmingly anti-jet skis and we are now looking at a petition to get them off the beach.

"The noise is like having a plague of wasps nests in your ears for hours on end, and it has been a nightmare for some of the older residents."

SWATK chairman Alistair McHardy said he was grateful for the chance to explain the sport and its opportunities to the Brean community, and said it was refreshing to hear their views.

He said: "SWATK would like to have an opportunity to demonstrate how the kites work and are controlled, and the unique nature of our sport.

"We would be very happy to organise a suitable time for local people to come along and find out what this sport is all about."