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`Quiet summer' hopes to attract yachtsmen

From the Echo, first published Monday 28th Jun 2004.

LYMINGTON Harbour Commissioners are hoping there is no repetition of last summer's violence and vandalism on the picturesque Town Quay.

The worst they have had to put up with this summer is some lads cooling off swimming during the hot spell.

But it has been a different story in recent years.

One hot night last July tempers flared and five police officers were assaulted when they attempted to break up a gang of about 40 drunken yobs on the quay.

In addition to the injuries to the police, a police van was damaged. Three youths were arrested.

The following night police had to deal with various groups of youths on the quay area, with five being reported for public order offences.

Officers had to use CS gas to break up members of one group as they moved into Queen Street where the late-night takeaways are.

Police responded with special late night weekend patrols.

The previous summer yachtsmen threatened to boycott the town because of abusive young drunks and vandals who attacked the shower block and stripped branches from young trees.

Harbour commissioners' chief executive Chris Harris said that on a warm summer's evening, 50 yachts can be moored at Town Quay.

"If they come ashore they spend a lot of money in Lymington," he said.

"But if they see rowdy kids then they don't come alongside, they stay moored in the river, they don't come into town and they don't spend any money."

The commissioners have been so concerned about the problem they have been holding talks with the police and town council.

Plans to ban swimming and public use of the pontoons have, however, been sidelined because police said they were powerless to uphold bylaws.

"We continued to discuss it with police, but the police said they were very sorry but they would only report it to the commissioners to take it to court," said Mr Harris.

That would make it more difficult, more expensive and less effective because the idea was to give more power to officers.

He added: "This year there has been some swimming, but we haven't had complaints from yachtsmen, which is our touchstone."