'Frog tour' skipper hit boat full of children

The captain of one of London's "frog tour" amphibious vehicles has been successfully prosecuted following a collision with another craft on the Thames.

Brian Gould narrowly avoided hitting a child after he crashed his craft, the Desdemona, into another amphibious vehicle near Westminster Bridge. The distinctive yellow vehicles ferry sightseers and tourists around the capital's roads and along the Thames.

At Horseferry Road magistrates' court yesterday, Gould was fined £500 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs after he pleaded guilty to travelling too close to the other craft.

The court heard that Gould was supposed to take his craft under Westminster Bridge but instead crossed the river to catch up with the other amphibious vehicle, the Titania, which was transporting a group of schoolchildren.

But Gould then deliberately manoeuvred the Desdemona alongside the Titania until the two vehicles were less than three metres apart. Minutes later Gould crashed into the Titania, just missing one of the children on board.

An off-duty police officer on board the Titania reported the incident to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The district judge told Gould: "You were running far too close for far too long when ... you should have known that this could cause a collision."

Bryan Hopkins of the MCA said: "The skipper of a passenger-carrying vessel should at all times keep in mind that they are always responsible for the safety of their passengers and crew. They should never put themselves in a position - especially in a tideway such as the Thames - that may result in risk to others."