BEACH-GOERS have raised concerns after spotting two jet skis “speeding inside the swimming zone” and “getting dangerously close to paddleboarders and swimmers”.

The speedsters are not allowed to travel faster than five knots within an exclusion zone which starts 200 metres from the shore off Brighton and Hove.

But one shocked onlooker said they saw jet skis come within this forbidden area of water, skirting perilously close to swimmers today.

They posted a video of the behaviour on social media, which showed a jet ski skimming across the sea near two kayaks.

The RNLI, Brighton and Hove City Council and Sussex Police were tagged in the post.

 

Police asked the person to report the incident online as they were “unable to take all the details we need over social media”.

This report follows several of the jet skis being snapped near Paddleboarders off Hove seafront on Bank Holiday Monday.

In June last year, similar concerns were raised by sea swimmers who said the riders were “going to kill someone” if they continued with their reckless behaviour.

One of the swimmers, Mark Radcliffe from Hove, said he had seen near misses in the sea and the situation was “getting dangerous”.

He said: “There were a couple of jet skiers going very, very fast who came really close to the shore.

“We had just got out of the sea. There is no way the jet skiers would have seen us.

“People looked terrified, there was a child in the water and the jet skiers didn’t see him until they were perhaps ten metres away.

“If they had hit the child, they would have been killed. It is not an isolated incident. It is getting dangerous. They are going to kill someone.”

After swimmers raised concerns, The Argus spoke with Brighton and Hove City Council’s seafront operations manager Chris Ingall about the issue.

The Argus:

He said that jet skis should not go in swimming areas, and should approach the shore at authorised launch sites at a speed of five knots.

The exclusion zone is 200 metres from the beach between Saltdean and Shoreham, although there can be problems with sea swimmers around the pier and those swimming further out. There are authorised launch zones within that area.

The advice for swimmers is to wear brightly marked hats and to stay closer to the shore.

Mr Ingall said the majority of jet skiers purchase or hire from known retailers and suppliers, and act responsibly, using the authorised launch sites that allow the lifeguards to track down those who may have breached seafront rules.

The Seafront Office has been contacted for an updated statement.