Letter of the Week (Eastbourne Herald 15 August 2003)
During the recent heat wave my wife and I, who live in Crowborough, decided to spend a couple of quiet Lazy days on the beach at Pevensey Bay
Delighted to learn that the beach has been awarded points for safe bathing, we were amazed to find nothing of the kind.
In fact the beaches were a time bomb waiting for a major accident. On August 5 we were confronted by a couple of four wheel petrol driven quad bikes racing back and forth from the car park to Normans Bay at well over 30mph.
Weaving in and out of small children playing on the beach, we were expecting a major accident at any moment.
The drivers were a teenage girl and boy both with similar aged pillion passengers, presumably no license, driving certificate, or insurance being required by law because it was not on a public highway.
The next day, we were confronted by three noisy water scooters, revving up and racing around without any consideration for the bathers.
The continual droning was akin to a forest full of chain saws.
At the same time, two speed boats with water skiers raced along well inside the yellow marker buoys, while many swimmers were in the water.
At about 5pm a large white motor launch joined the mob and cruised around just east of the car park area and within 20 feet or so of the waterline, also while swimmers were in the water, and annoying the local fishermen.
The beaches and the water are certainly cleaner than when we first visited many years ago, a credit to the local authorities, but surely there should be some regulation to control the use of motors on the beach and in the water.
A disaster is waiting to happen
reproduced by kind permission of Mr Etherington.