An experienced jet-skier fears “it is only a matter of time” before a child is killed on a seafront slipway he brands “dangerous”.

Dean Goodger, a rider of 20 years, says he has witnessed youngsters playing on and around the Neptune launch ramp in Herne Bay, and speeding jet-skiers travelling too close to the shore.

He has called for supervision of the site by foreshore teams to be extended beyond weekends.

But the city council has defended itself against the criticism, and says staffing levels are “kept under review”.

Dartford resident Mr Goodger’s most recent visit to the area was on Friday, July 8, when he says he was left shocked by what he saw.

“It was unmanned down there, and you could see children sitting on the slipway,” he said.

“If you were to go down there with a trailer and you accidentally let go of it, it would take a child out and kill them.

“I want to go out there but I could hit a child, and they’re not supposed to be in the jet ski area.”

In April the city council introduced a new £150-a-year membership fee for fishermen, jet-skiers, sailors and power boat users entering the sea via launch ramps.

The authority had been flooded with complaints about reckless jet-skiers causing a nuisance last summer.

But rather than just introduce the fee for riders, council officers decided all those taking to water craft off Whitstable and Herne Bay should be charged to use the ramps.

Every jet ski rider now needs to hold a Personal Water Craft (PWC) proficiency qualification and be covered by insurance.

But Mr Goodger says there remains inadequate supervision, branding the area a “free-for-all” for jet-skiers.

“Most of the people I have spoken to are complaining about the jet-skiers and there is no one there upholding any rules,” he said.

“I was standing there watching (on July 8) and thinking, someone is going to hit someone, the way they were skiing fast and close to children.”

A spokesman for Canterbury City Council says the introduction of the membership scheme has reduced incident reports.

“Ensuring there is a better experience for everyone who uses our coastline, be they a watercraft user or not, was the key aim of our registration scheme, and we are pleased with how it is progressing,” the spokesman said.

“The number of users has reduced and behaviour has generally improved.

“The number of incidents recorded by our staff has also dropped. But as you would expect, we continue to monitor the scheme’s effectiveness and tweak it if required.

“The ramps are only staffed at weekends, aside from ad hoc visits by foreshore staff during the week when they may be there as part of other work they are involved in.

“The day Mr Goodger refers to was a Friday.

“Having not witnessed the behaviour of children he mentions, it’s difficult to comment on, but in our general experience, this is often related to people who are there with service users.

“On days when the ramps are staffed, our officers will deal with these incidents appropriately.

“Staffing levels across the foreshore service are kept under review to ensure we have enough people on duty to meet the demand on the service.”