NUISANCE jet ski riders who put lives in danger will no longer be out of the reach of police, with officers set to be boosted by new high-powered vehicles.

As Southend Council considers introducing new tough rules on the use of jet skis, it has been revealed that Essex Police has purchased two “powerful jet skis capable of outrunning most water crafts.”

Martin Terry, councillor responsible for public protection, made the revelation at a cabinet meeting as he warned raucous riders they would no longer be able to evade capture by police.

Mr Terry said: “We are getting people coming over from All Hallows in Kent. They come over to Leigh have a few beers and jump back on their highly powerful jet skis. Some of them do over 40mph. We get them coming over from Wat Tylers in Basildon doing the same thing, showing off basically and the fear is there is going to be a tragedy.

“I will let the jet ski community know that Essex Police have procured a couple of very fast jet skis. Some of these jet skis are so powerful they would outpace a typical boat the marine police would use. That’s no longer the case so if you want to come to Southend and cause trouble you will get pulled up by Essex Police.

“They’ve got faster jet skis than you will ever have.”

The council will introduce an extension to a Public Spaces Protection Order covering all of Southend seafront following a public consultation. Jet skiers will only be able to launch from designated launch sites in Southend and Shoebury, and a 400-metre exclusion zone will be introduced.

Mr Terry said: “What this policy enables us to do is to issue fixed penalty notices to those people should they be contravening our safe operation policy.

“Already I’ve received emails saying ‘Thank God you are going to do something about this’. I’ve had complaints from cold water swimmers, from the fishing industry, from paddle boarders about the behaviour of jet ski operators. They are not all like it but there is a hard core who seem to think they can do what they like.”

Mr Terry added: “We’ve seen some tragic and concerning circumstances and you wonder about the mentality of people who think it’s a good idea to come on the beach with a disposable barbecue and when they have finished, bury it in the sand and allow someone to step on it and get third degree burns. That’s actually happened.”