Boat skipper jailed over death of passenger David Haw in Poole Harbour

Skipper Morgan Smith had also been using his mobile phone to assist with navigation, the CPS said

A 21-year-old boat skipper has been jailed over the death of one of his passengers after he crashed into a navigation buoy.

David Haw, 24, from Newick, East Sussex, fell from a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) in Poole Harbour, Dorset, in 2022 and was found dead 12 days later.

Morgan Smith, from Northampton, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter at Bournemouth Crown Court in July.

He was jailed for three years at Winchester Crown Court earlier.

David Haw fell overboard from the boat shortly before 02:00 BST on 2 May 2022

The court heard Smith had been drinking heavily and was travelling at speeds of up to 34 knots - three times the speed limit - when the RIB crashed.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Smith, who was 19 at the time, had also been using his mobile phone to assist with navigation.

Mr Haw and another passenger were thrown overboard following the forceful impact in the early hours of 2 May 2022.

Mark Watson KC, prosecuting, said the second man was able to get back on board but both his and Smith's phones were lost in the water, leaving them unable to call for help.

He said, in the panic, Smith had also snapped the key in the ignition, meaning the RIB could not be restarted and they had to paddle back to shore.

They managed to return to Parkstone Yacht Club but the alarm was not raised until one hour and 40 minutes after the crash.

Police specialist dive teams supported by HM Coastguard, the RNLI and volunteers from DorSAR and Wessex Flood and Water Rescue Unit searched the harbour.

Extensive searches were carried out in the days following Mr Haw's disappearance

The body of Mr Haw was eventually found in the water on 14 May.

Sentencing Smith, Mrs Justice Cockerill called on the marine industry to make sure "such a tragic case doesn't occur again".

She described Mr Haw as a "brilliant young man" who was "in the prime of his life".

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Haw's parents described his death as a "totally unnecessary disaster".

"He was our only child at the very start of his adult life, we have been cruelly robbed of a future life with David," they said.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division, said: "Smith made a wholly unsafe journey in a boat which clearly put his two passengers at very serious risk.

"It was late at night, and the boat was being driven at high speed by Smith - who was an inexperienced skipper and had earlier been drinking alcohol.

"His helming of the RIB on the day of the tragedy fell very far below the standard of a reasonable and competent skipper, and very sadly as a result of his actions, David Haw, a young man in his prime, needlessly lost his life."