A skipper has told of his guilty feelings over a powerboat crash which killed his brother.

Ian Langan, 45, died after the boat his younger brother was driving speared into the side of his craft off Brighton Marina.

In his first interview since the collision, Cliff Langan, 44, told how the memory of the crash would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Mr Langan, who was arrested along with the skipper of the other vessel, said he felt a deep sense of guilt but insisted the collision was a tragic accident.

If it had to happen, he said, he was glad he was at the helm.

He said: "If it had been anyone else I'd be asking could he have done this or that to avoid the collision."

Mr Langan, who is self-employed, said there was nothing he could have done to avoid the crash. He believes his quick reactions saved other lives.

He said: "I was the most experienced of anyone out there. If I had not spun away at the last moment then all those on the other boat would have perished."

The brothers, close friends all their lives, had been out at sea enjoying themselves with five friends for just eight minutes before the crash.

Mr Langan, who lives at the marina, was steering his friend's 26ft powerboat Blue Sunset towards the Palace Pier.

He said: "I made a 180-degree turn and was doing about ten knots. The bow was up and I could not see immediately in front.

"I increased speed slightly to about 15 knots to bring the bow down and the other boat was there, directly in my path."

Mr Langan said he veered off to starboard in a fraction of a second but could not avoid riding up the stern of the other vessel, the 25ft jet-powerboat Jade Princess.

The owner, a local businessman, was at the helm. He had three people on board.

Mr Langan's brother, a chef at Brighton Marina Yacht Club, died instantly and a friend Mike Tierney, in his early 50s, suffered a broken leg and internal injuries. He is recovering in hospital.

Mr Langan, Rear Commodore of Brighton Marina Yacht Club powerboat section, radioed a mayday to Coastguards and, with two friends aboard his vessel, searched for 90 minutes for his brother with lifeboat crews, police and Coastguards and passing boats.

Ian was found off the west arm of the Marina. The fact he died instantly is a comfort to his family.

Mr Langan, with years of experience at sea and fully qualified, said: "I am totally devastated.

"It was a terrible, tragic accident and one that I and my family will never get over."

Mr Langan and the second skipper have been released on bail to return to Brighton police station on October 14.

He praised everyone who joined the search, the lifeboats, Coastguards and Sussex Police and he especially thanked Detective Constable Chris Wyeth who has acted as liaison officer with the family. He said: "They were all brilliant."

Police are putting boards up at the Palace Pier this weekend to trace people who may have seen the accident.

They particularly want to speak to two people who were in a grey dinghy moored near Brighton Marina's sea wall when the two speedboats left the marina between 6.30pm and 6.50pm on Sunday.