LOOKING down from the cliff top at 9.30am on Sunday I noted a near catastrophic incident on Southbourne Beach.

A Jet Ski with two men aboard moving at very great speed came from the direction of Boscombe Pier and was skimming the beach.

The jet skiers had already not noticed there were two boys in the water and missed them without knowing it. However, the situation grew far worse.

Coming the opposite way on exactly the same course were a group of sea swimmers (I counted 29 in the water).

The sea swimmers were all wearing black wetsuits and black swimming hats – and were not easily visible to the Jet Ski driver. At the very last moment the Jet Ski noticed the people in the water and veered further out to sea.

If the sun had been rising closer in behind the Isle of Wight he would have had no chance to see the swimmers as the sun would have been directly in his eyes.

We have two problems here. The yellow swimming buoys are currently removed after the summer season. These buoys prohibit motor craft being brought near the beach and give a clear line of safety.

However, people in Bournemouth and Poole are now involved in far more autumn and winter swimming and water sports in the sea (due to global warming and wetsuit advances).

I would suggest the yellow marker safety buoys should be left throughout the year off the beaches in Poole and Bournemouth as there is no longer a clear season.

Also, swimmers in the sea need to be aware that bright coloured wetsuits and fluorescent coloured swimming hats (rather than standard black) give a very great safety advantage in being spotted in the water at a distance.

ROBERT WILSON, Ravine Road, Bournemouth