Youngsters who filmed themselves standing on top of moving cars on beaches in the Burnham-On-Sea area are breaking local bye-laws and risk legal action, it emerged on Saturday (October 14th).
Alarming video footage of the youngsters standing on top of moving cars came to light when a Berrow resident found the clips on an Internet search engine.
In the footage – which is available on Google – a man stands on the roof of a car as it speeds along the beach with no-one at the driving wheel.
Sedgemoor District Council – which owns the beach at Berrow – referred the matter to its legal team this week, who confirmed that the activity does break one of the bye-laws in force along the coastline.
The Berrow resident who found the clips has asked not to be named and told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I could hardly believe my eyes when I stumbled across these videos on Google.”
“The youngsters are larking about on the roof of vehicles as they are driven along the beach. On one occasion, there is no-one even driving at the wheel.”
“It’s incredibly reckless. These people are not just putting themselves at risk, but others like myself who use the beach.”
“Although the video is pixellated and of a poor quality, Brean Down can be clearly seen in the background and there’s no doubt in my mind about where this has been happening. The cars may not be travelling at high speed, but that’s not the point.”
Sedgemoor District Council spokeswoman Claire Faun condemned the youngsters. She told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “What they are doing is potentially very dangerous for both themselves and others using the beach. Our legal team have watched the video and confirmed that they are breaking one of our bye-laws.”
“Unfortunately, though, the video is so grainy that it is unclear whether the car is travelling on Brean beach, which is owned by the parish council, or Berrow, which is owned by ourselves.”
.WHERE THE LAW STANDS:
Sedgemoor District Council Byelaw: The Seashore and Esplanade at Burnham-On-Sea, Berrow and Brean…
Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907
5 (i) No person shall drive a motor vehicle or sail any sand yacht or cause or permit the same to be driven or sailed on any part of the seashore in a dangerous manner or without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other people.
“Also, while they are breaking a bye-law, we think it would be difficult to prosecute without one of our wardens actually seeing and catching them at it. Our Resort Manager has therefore been informed and he will be keeping a careful eye on this in the future.”
A police spokesman added that because Berrow Beach is not a public highway, the police would not be directly involved in the matter.
RELATED LINKS:
BBC Somerset coverage of the story
