The fatal speedboat collision off the Palace Pier was an accident waiting to happen.

It is purely fortuitous the victim was a participant and not an innocent bystander and the incident did not result in damage to the pier.

High-speed craft have been plaguing sea bathers for years and the council has failed to take the necessary action.

An attempted prosecution in 1997 was thrown out of court when it turned out the council's navigation bylaws were incorrectly worded. The local speedboat cowboys took the decision as a signal to run wild.

Following the court case, we were told the bylaws were going to be revised to unify the previous Brighton and Hove regulations but, seemingly, the whole thing has been dropped.

In the meantime, enforcement of the present rules is minimal. The beach lifeguards, who do an excellent job with the inadequate resources the council provides, have just one patrol boat for the whole stretch of the seafront.

It is only on duty from noon until about 5.30pm and only six days a week. As soon as the patrol boat returns to the marina in the evening, the speedboat cowboys emerge.

This collision should also be seen in its context. The previous Sunday there was a serious accident when someone dived off a groyne into shallow water, in a carbon-copy repeat of an accident that resulted in a fatality in 1997.

A few weeks earlier, we had the shambles of the Big Beach Boutique when the seafront was trashed and broken glass was mixed with the shingle.

Taken together, these three events show the council's management of the

precious resource the seafront represents leaves a lot to be desired.

The seafront "regeneration" has turned its back on traditional usages - the rowing club, for instance, was thrown out - and we have instead a series of diversions and amusements which have no business to be there except as a short-term way of maximising rental income.

-Henry Law, Queen's Gardens, Brighton