There is not enough supervision on Dutch lakes, waterways and beaches, the organisation which promotes water sports said on Tuesday.

The Watersportverbond said there should be more police at all water sport sites during the summer months.

The comment comes following a collision last weekend between two boats on the lake at Vinkeveen. Two men were killed and three people are in custody on suspicion of manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.

Earlier on Tuesday, the rescue brigade said eight people have drowned so far this summer.

Inexperienced

‘There are fewer police around in these areas,’ the organisation’s Frank Jibben told broadcaster Nos. ‘And those that are are often inexperienced. If there is an incident, agents are called in from, for instance, the railway police.’

Jibben thinks the decreasing number of police available for this task is a result of budget cuts. ‘Priorities have to be set and apparently they do not lie on the water,’ he said.