HARBOUR officials have welcomed hefty fines handed down by magistrates for speeding on the water.

Poole's deputy harbour master Ian Bishop said it was important to enforce the speed limits for safety reasons.

Unemployed panel beater Darren Low pleaded guilty to driving his speedboat at three times the limit in the harbour on April 30.

Prosecuting on behalf of the Harbour Commissioners, Verne Lake told Wimborne magistrates that Low, 31, had given a false name after being challenged for doing 30 knots an hour in the main shipping channel. Low of Westlands Avenue in Reading told the court he was speeding to pick up a mislaid key, fearing that his trailer would be stolen.

"In a panic I gave a false name," he said.

Fining him £700 and ordering him to pay £350 costs, the presiding magistrate said: "I hope you realise now just how seriously we take speeding in Poole harbour - it is a very dangerous area and you were doing 30 knots."

Greg Miller, 18, of Western Road, Branksome, pleaded guilty to driving in his rigid inflatable boat at 27 knots on June 16.

He apologised to the court for giving a false name and address when stopped and said his father had banned him from using the boat for the rest of the year.

Miller was fined £400 and ordered to pay £250.

Speaking after the hearing Mr Bishop said speeding on the water was not just a technical offence such as driving over the speed limit down an empty road at night.

"If you're speeding through the harbour you're very probably going to create a wash which could hit people unexpectedly," he said.

"There have been accidents and the limit is entirely for safety."