Jet skis have been caught running at three or four times the speed limit at Conwy harbour, with some riders carrying young children as authorities try to stop the behaviour with CCTV. The reported speed is up to 30 or 40 knots in a zone limited to 10 knots, and Harbour Master Matt Forbes said the problem has already produced a string of dangerous incidents.

Forbes said the issue is not every rider, but a minority who are putting others at risk. He said the behaviour tends to happen in the narrowest part of the channel between Deganwy and the beacons, where water users have less room to move and where signs and yellow special marks are supposed to make the limit clear. He described the problem as dangerous and said it has cropped up in recent months, even as some rides have involved young children on board.

That is why Conwy council installed cameras a few months before the report, after reckless behaviour near the Beacons slipway had already prompted concern. The aim is simple: film the riders while the violation is happening, then use that evidence to identify them. Forbes said the authority needs proof of the vehicle being launched before it can catch the rider speeding, and then the vehicle has to be recovered as well.

The difficulty is that the people behind the worst cases appear to know the cameras are there. Forbes said one rider removed a registration plate to evade prosecution, which he took as a sign that the message had spread. He also said the warning signs on the harbour have since been improved so the speed limits are very clear, and that water patrols over the last few weekends found no behavioural concerns during that period.

Even so, the main question is whether the evidence trail will be enough. If CCTV captures the launch, the speed and the rider, the next step is clear; if it does not, the same small group can keep turning the harbour into a risk for everyone else using it.