WHILE the debate rages about who will pay for extra work on Boscombe’s surf reef, this was the too familiar scene at around 12.30pm on Tuesday (Nov 9).

Around 20 surfers enjoyed the waves on the Bournemouth side of the pier, but the wave generated by the reef was not being used.

The steep-side wave is popular with bodyboarders but it is difficult for anyone but experienced surfers to master.

Surfer Toby Hooper, 28, from Boscombe, said that difficulty makes the reef worthwhile because it adds an extra dimension to the area. “The reef is really good,” he said. “A lot of people surf on it and have really good fun on it. It works when it’s windy, which is good because we don’t get much swell because we are in a bay.

“It doesn’t look like much from the beach because it’s far out.”

Bournemouth council’s cabinet faces deciding whether to release £77,500 to contractor ASR to add bags to the base of the reef and to create a gentler slope.

ASR has not yet indicated whether it would carry out this work.

The council says the risk of injury on the reef is low after the Daily Echo revealed an independent report claimed people could get trapped between the bags and drown.