LAKE wardens may soon be on the trailof speeding boat owners - with guns blazing.

Extensive tests with alaser gun, in conjunction with Cumbria police, have shown that the newtype of gun used by the traffic department is highly accurate for clockingthe speed of boats powering through the existing six mph speed-limitedareas of the lake.

A report on lake activity for 1998 says that thesight of lake wardens and rangers aiming the gun during tests also proveda remarkably-effective deterrent.

Despite that, speeding was thebiggest cause of complaint, with South Lakeland District Council's lakewardens and the Lake District National Park Authority's lake rangersdealing with 291 offences. The great majority were given a caution, butthere were 17 prosecutions.

Wardens also pulled up 119 boat usersfor having expired registration and there were 87 warnings, and sevenprosecutions for offences involving water skiing.

Some 17 boatdrivers were stopped for navigating without due care and one prosecutionfor reckless navigation.

Lake rangers said they were particularlyconcerned about the number of ski boats not fitted with a rear viewmirror.

l Indecision over whether a 10mph by-law is to be introducedto cover the whole of Windermere has had little effect on the number ofpower boats registered for use on Windermere.

A report into use ofthe lake in 1998 says that activity differed little from 1997, despite thepoor weather.

The joint report by the lake wardens and lake rangerservice says there was a general reduction in the use of public slipway atFerry Nab, but it was offset by a greater take up of permanentmoorings.

In 1997 6,458 power boats had valid registrations, lastyear it was 6,456.

l Incidents involving sailing boats were thebiggest cause of emergency call outs of the wardens and rangers during1998.

In many of the 213 cases it was just a question of boatsbreaking from their mooring in gale conditions, but there was onefatality, when a man died of a heart-attack while water skiing.

Inanother incident a power boat sliced a hired rowing boat in half - butnobody was injured- and a jet ski rider broke his leg when he fell off hiscraft.

Wardens say, however, that despite the diverse array ofevents taking place on Windermere there are relatively few problems.

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