A group set up to look into anti-social behaviour on the Broads after some high-profile incidents held its first meeting in Norwich yesterday.
The meeting follows a July proposal from North Norfolk Council member Paul Rice that a small working group made up of members and other people with an interest be set up to look into bad behaviour on the Broads.
Mr Rice made the proposal at the annual meeting of the Broads Authority following an incident in June in which a bridegroom was stripped naked and urinated on in front of horrified onlookers at a Stokesby pub.
A Broads Authority spokesman said members at yesterday's (WED) meeting agreed on a number of additional, collective actions to help eradicate anti-social behaviour on the Broads.
The spokesman said the group, which included representatives of the Broads Authority, Broads Beat, The Hire Boat Federation, Norfolk and Suffolk Boating Association as well as private boaters, agreed that the vast majority of boaters acted responsibly and did not encounter issues of poor behaviour.
'There was a collective acceptance however that the Broads is not immune to the challenges of anti-social behaviour experienced in many other areas and there are some instances that are not limited to hirers of boats or any particular group - such as stag parties - which attract the attention of the media and are reported on social media.'
Nicky Talbot, chairman of the Broads Authority Navigation Committee, said: 'We are very keen that the Broads is not tainted by a perception of a growing issue and committed as a group to some additional proactive measures to stamp out issues such as speeding, excessive drinking and other anti-social behaviour.'
MORE: Groom is stripped naked and urinated on during stag party on Norfolk Broads
The group agreed to: investigate increased ranger and Broads Beat presence in the evenings; expand the Super Safety days programme to evenings; work with the industry to limit the maximum speed of hired day-boats; increase communication between Broads Authority rangers, Broads Beat and boat hire companies to share intelligence about groups that are causing problems; investigate the purchase of mobile speed signs to build on trials which took place this summer; and encourage rewards for boat hirers who complete an online pre-visit safety test.
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