It is a summer craze which seems likely to end in tragedy.

Repeated warnings by council officials and police officers are falling on deaf ears and now there are predictions someone will be killed if youths continue to hurl themselves from tall landmarks into the sea, creating mayhem and extra pressure for rescue crews.

The stark message was delivered by Brighton and Hove City Council as it admitted emergency services were virtually powerless to stop people diving from popular sites such as the Palace Pier and Brighton Marina.

A spokesman for the city council said: "We're predicting someone will be killed this year, judging by past experience, unless this stops."

These recent photographs show just some of the youngsters dicing with death on the Sussex coast, as recently as yesterday.

They are jumping from buildings on the pier, including the helter skelter, as well as groynes on the beach and the breakwater at the harbour entrance of Brighton Marina - a drop of 40ft into a stretch of water used by dozens of jet skis, speedboats and yachts each day.

In June last year, a tourist broke his leg after leaping from the Palace Pier.

The injured man was left floundering in the water, screaming in agony before he was rescued and taken to hospital.

Just 24 hours later, youngsters were photographed by The Argus repeating the stunts.

Not even death in the water stopped them.

In 1997, Mark Walker, 24, from Kemp Town, Brighton, jumped from the pier and landed in 4ft feet of water.

He was found floating face down in the sea and later died from multiple injuries.

Following the tragedy, urgent talks were held between council chiefs, the owners of the Palace Pier and police in a bid to see if new measures could be introduced to punish divers.

But it was decided any legislation would be far too difficult to implement and no action was taken.

Despite fresh calls for new laws this summer, it seems the city is no nearer to adopting any tough measures.

Hampshire Constabulary teamed up with Portsmouth City Council in 1998 to develop an action plan to stop divers.

Youngsters caught jumping from the city's piers or Round Tower would be cautioned and escorted home to their parents if they were seen a third time.

Persistent offenders would end up in court and face a hefty fine.

But a spokeswoman for Hampshire police admitted it had been very difficult to measure the impact of the policy.

She said: "People will be prosecuted if we catch them but it is difficult to quantify how effective the legislation has been because the number of people diving was not recorded before it was introduced.

"There is still an annual problem along the seafront."

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council conceded the problem could not be eradicated simply by introducing new laws.

He said: "We have no powers to stop anyone jumping off private buildings like the piers or marina.

"The warnings are clear and there can be few responsible parents in the city who don't know that letting their kids dive into the sea from height is very, very dangerous.

"While lifeguards will warn jumpers of the dangers, we are not going to ask lifeguards to occupy their days pleading with people determined to put themselves in danger.

"Our staff are better employed looking after ordinary bathers who may get into difficulties through no fault of their own.

"We have no plans to introduce bylaws which would supposedly prevent anyone jumping into the sea, even in the unlikely event such bylaws were available to the council.

"The problems with bylaws is always finding the resources for enforcement, without which they would not work."

Lucy Tanner, duty watch manager at Solent Coastguard, said: "The longer it goes on, the more confident the kids will get and the more risks they could take.

"Someone may overstep the mark and we are fearful it will only take a death to stop them in the end."

She also criticised the divers for taking up valuable resources, which were intended to help people who did not mean to get into trouble.

But she said: "Saving lives is always our prime objective and we cannot be prejudiced as to who we help.

"If someone is in the sea for whatever reason, resources will be diverted as necessary."

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "If people get into trouble in the water, it isn't just their lives they are risking but that of the police officer, lifeguard or member of the public who tries to rescue them."

Lisa Pearcey, Brighton and Hove central district commander, suggested the owners of places such as the Palace Pier and Brighton Marina could ban persistent divers.

She said: "Police officers can give people advice about the dangers of jumping. However, divers are putting themselves at risk rather than breaking the law.

"There are patrols by the council, Coastguard and security guards along various parts of the seafront and management can ban people from private property for this type of behaviour."

But Clare Wedger, marketing manager of the Palace Pier, insisted pier bosses were doing their best to stop people leaping from the structure.

She said: "If they are coming on to the promenade and climbing over the barriers then we can ban them. But if they are approaching us from the sea and climbing up the pier there is nothing we can do."

Managers at Brighton Marina have similar problems.

Property manager Andrew Knigh said: "We have security guards patrolling and there are lots of warning signs posted around the breakwaters and other places.

"These are, however, open to the public and that is the way people want them to stay.

"We have barred people from the marina for other nuisance issues, which can be a long and complex process, but we have not yet barred anyone for jumping because they can be very difficult to catch."

Health officials have also warned about the potentially devastating consequences.

A spokesman for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We condemn any activity which puts people at risk of serious injury.

"The actions we have seen pictured in The Argus are foolhardy in the extreme and potentially lethal.

"Anyone jumping into unknown depths of water could break limbs, damage spines or be left permanently paralysed."