A MULTI-AGENCY group has been assembled to crack down on reckless water users in Studland Bay and Swanage Bay.

Following a growing number of incidents around water safety relating to jet skis and small motorised boats in both bays, local council, police, coastguards and Poole Harbour Commissioners have worked together on measures to improve water safety.

Last year, the problem was exacerbated due to the increase in staycation visitor numbers, with more people bringing or hiring jet skis and boats.

In August 2020, the group, coordinated by Dorset Council, set about delivering a programme of measures that they hope will reduce the number of incidents in these areas ahead of another busy summer period.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council's Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “With more people set to visit our beautiful county this summer, we needed to take action to ensure those who wish to use our waters are kept safe.

“I want to thank all our partners for their hard work in helping keep incidents to a minimum so everyone can have a good time responsibly.”

Dorset Council are investing in more five knot speed marker buoys to clearly mark areas where jet ski and motorised boats need to reduce their speed in line with the current pleasure boat byelaw.

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There are also regular patrols from April to September, provided by two local water sport companies to actively engage with people on water safety.

Personal Watercraft Partnership have funded two marine police on jet skis safety, and Dorset Marine Policing Team will be running Operation Seagoing over the summer months to help with education, enforcement and with the running some police operation days over the summer months.

The inter-agency group also want to urge all jet skiers and motorboat users to S.L.O.W. down – by seeing who else is in the water, looking out for wildlife, observing the sea conditions and watching their speed.

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Dave Brown from the Dorset Marine Police said: “We hope our SLOW - See, Look, Observe, Watch - campaign message is really clear to everyone.

“We don’t want to spoil people’s enjoyment, but we do need to have fun safely.”

Swanage Town Council have also closed the parish slipway at Swanage to motorised vehicles, stopping any launching of jet skis in this very crowded area.

New signage, along with a leaflet and website has been developed and will be used to promote key information on water safety.

Ian Brown, from the Coastguard said: “It’s vital we work together with partners to reduce the risks of incidents between water users in Swanage and Studland.”