Ellee Seymour

We saw the stricken cargo ship on TV over the weekend, waiting for it to run aground, yet there was no effective contingency plan to deal with its aftermath.

Instead, police stood by helpless and just watched as greedy scavengers descended on the Devon beach and helped themselves to washed up cargo. Such was their greed that they had no concern whatsoever about warnings to stay away because of the potentially dangerous chemicals on board the ship.

Am I alone in finding it quite extraordinary that hundreds of scavengers can help themselves to BMW motorbikes, engine parts, wine and face creams while police stand by and watch?

The cargo also included personal possessions. One couple were naturally horrified to watch looters help themselves to their belongings which were strewn all over the beach. They were being transported to their new home in South Africa and accused police of not doing more to stop scavengers.

It was only this morning that police closed the road leading to the beach in Branscombe to deter treasure seekers and to allow contractors start clearing away substantial amounts of debris.

I know this is a tricky situation legally, but it should have been thrashed out much sooner by the police and the Acting Receiver of Wreck to agree on a course of action.

The law on salvage states that people who salvage goods from a wreck have common law right to a reward in return for their booty, unlike those who loot an overturned lorry on the highway.

Under maritime law, they are regarded as removing the wrecked goods for protection and safekeeping and are rewarded for that. An individual who finds goods must make a report to the Receiver of Wreck within 28 days. Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 it is not a crime to recover jetsam (items washed up by the sea) but it is illegal to fail to declare it or refuse to surrender it when asked. Anyone who does not return the goods after being asked to do so can be prosecuted and fined up to £2,500.

However, it was obvious in this case that a “free for all” was taking place that should have been stopped. Some of the items plundered from the container ship have already been listed on the internet auction website eBay.

No doubt the police and other agencies were caught off guard by the way the beach was swamped by scavengers, perhaps they anticipated just a few sightseers.

I wonder how many of these looters will declare their haul, what about those photographed in today’s press with the motorbike? What action do you think the police should have taken in these circumstances? Were their hands tied?

Update: Police get tough - eventually. Time for home now?

I was delighted to join Iain and fellow bloggers Rachel from North London, Caroline Hunt, Kerron Cross and Andy Mayer on his squashy sofa at 18 Doughty Street last night.

We discussed why more women are not blogging, ethics and fake blogs. I found the hour flew by and we had run out of time before I knew it, and there was so much more I wanted to say.

I had expected to be a teeny bit nervous as I have a fear of public speaking, but it was a piece of cake after my unexpected appearance on BBC News 24. I felt very relaxed.

Having bumped into Estelle Morris waiting for a train at Kings Cross Station when I arrived in the city, I knew she would not be tuned in, but she can catch up with the show here as well as anyone else who missed it.

I had a very entertaining train journey home after being spotted by my former Cambridge Evening News Editor Robert Satchwell, and now director of the Society of Editors and planning a conference on ethics too. He had just seen Paul Dacre, Editor of the Daily Mail, give a lecture, a rare event as he said Paul does not like public speaking either.

Our fellow passenger’s ears pricked up when we started talking about blogging and it turned out she had read my site. That’s because Rend Shakir is not only a geek, but a friend of Geoff’s who created my site and introduced me to blogging. We exchanged phone numbers and I am looking forward to meeting up with Rend again and learning more about her and her family, some of whom are still in Iraq.

To mark the debate on women bloggers, I have added some of their pics at the top of my site, hope you enjoy them. I did include Antonia and Jo too, but seem to have run out of space.

P.S. Just remembered that yesterday was Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Thankfully, that was not the case for me, I had quite a bit of fun, but how was your day?