Water bikes: Safety advice changes after Jane Walker death

Safety advice on using water bikes and power boats across the UK is being changed after a woman was killed in a crash.

Jane Walker, 52, from Cheadle, Staffordshire, was in a boat hit by a water bike off Anglesey.

Investigators said the rider and the boat's driver did not have the knowledge or skills they needed, and were too close at speed.

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is now amending its training guidance.

Mrs Walker was on a holiday break on Anglesey with her husband and son in August 2020.

The speedboat, a rigid inflatable boat known as a rib, was owned by her son.

A report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said her son had arranged to meet another family at the Menai Strait, the stretch of water separating Anglesey from the north Wales mainland.

The family friends had two water bikes, which were launched into the sea along with the boat at Menai Bridge.

Investigators said the boat was being steered at the time of the collision by the owner of the water bikes, and his 17-year-old niece was on the bike that crashed.

The MAIB report said the water bike had been jumping across the wake of the boat, and both crafts were being operating "too closely" and at speed.

Investigators said neither the rib boat nor water bike "were being driven safely on the evening of the accident".

They found the water bike had been approaching the wake of the boat, when the rib "turned sharply to starboard and into the path" of the watercraft, while the boat was travelling at between 25 and 30 knots (29-35 mph).

The MAIB said the rib boat driver had no powerboat qualifications and had not driven a rib for more than 25 years.

Investigators said the water bike rider had only driven a personal watercraft "eight or nine times prior to the accident" and also held no qualifications for it.

She was also unaware that anyone under 18 should have completed a RYA course before taking to the Menai Strait, under rules set out by the local authority, Anglesey council.

However, the investigators found it was "unlikely" that even an experienced rider could have avoided colliding with the turning rib.

As a result of the investigation, the RYA has accepted recommendations to change its handbooks giving guidance on water bikes and power boats, including highlighting the need to keep safe distances from other vessels creating wakes.

It has also been asked to set up a forum with the Personal Watercraft Partnership, which represents the sector, to examine how rules and management of water bikes are enforced across the UK.

Anglesey council has also been asked to review how it manages the stretch of water, and revise local bylaws if necessary.

It has also been told to fund its maritime teams adequately, to ensure they can carry out their policing role properly.

The council said it accepted the report's findings.

"We recognise that this continues to be an extremely difficult time for the family and friends of Mrs Jane Walker, and our thoughts are with them today," said its head of regulation, Christian Branch.

"We have are already started to take positive steps to improve the management of the Menai Strait, as recommended by the MAIB."

Speaking last year, Mrs Walker's husband said he did not want to see restrictions imposed on water bike users in the area.

Kevin Walker said: "I'm very much against that. I don't want the accident to be used in that way.

"My wife would definitely have said the same.

"She loved coming here. What happened was a tragic accident. I know what happened - I was sitting next to her."