§ Sir JOHN SPEARasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the danger caused to shipping by the Middle Ridge, in the estuary of the Tor and Torridge, between Braunton and Appledore, North Devon; is he aware that there have been two wrecks recently on this bank; and will he cause a lighted buoy to be placed on the ridge to warn vessels of the danger?
Mr. BUXTONThe question of placing a lighted buoy on the Middle Ridge formed the subject of correspondence between the Board of Trade and the Trinity House, who are the general lighthouse authority for this part of the coast, in 1902 and 1910, when the Elder Brethren expressed the views that a lighted buoy could not be maintained in the position and that, even if it could, it would be a light of such a local character that it should not be established at the expense of the General Lighthouse Fund. The Elder Brethren, with whom I have again been in communication, adhere to the views then expressed, and are further of opinion that the Middle Ridge Sand is adequately guarded by the sectors shown from the light established 989W at Braunton Burrows in 1908. Reports by the Receiver of Wreck in regard to two recent casualties, which are presumably those referred to by the hon. Member, indicate that in neither case was the casualty attributable to insufficient lights.