Elf 'n' safety

This story rather boggles belief.

New Zealander Pete Bethune described Britain's health and safety culture as "out of control" after being threatened with a possible £50,000 fine for taking "paying" passengers onboard his Earthrace boat without a licence.

The row flared after someone tipped off the harbour master's office in Torquay, south Devon, that food and drink had changed hands.

Under British maritime health and safety regulations, giving the skipper refreshments is technically "payment-in-kind".

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) consequently contacted Mr Bethune and told him he could not take out "paying" passengers without a passenger certificate. These are only issued after a thorough examination of safety features such as lifejackets and lifecraft.

The MCA are of course those brave lads who confiscated one of their own boats from a volunteer crew last week because they had the temerity to launch to save a drowning girl without a seaworthiness certificate on the vessel.

There are those who would say that hanging is too good for them.

He said: "There were safety issues, and the law's there for a reason - otherwise every Tom, Dick or Harry could turn up and take people out."

Yes, there is a reason.

He added: "In an area like Torbay where you've got existing operators who have paid out for licences it doesn't take long before resentment builds up if someone is not following the rules."

Protectionism.

Does that bloke in Dorset still make those portable gallows?