A Swieqi man was yesterday fined €5,500 for severing a snorkeller’s foot while trying out a dinghy he was thinking of buying, just two days before he obtained his nautical licence.

John Bonello, 35, of Swieqi, was driving the dinghy close to San Blas Bay, Gozo, on May 25, 2009, when he struck Louis Bonavia, who was snorkelling with his friend Ian Busuttil. The snorkeller did not have a marker buoy.

The snorkeller told Magistrate Claire Stafrace he saw the dinghy heading towards him when he surfaced and noticed that his colleague was shouting and waving his arms.

He tried to get out of its path by diving again but did not manage and was hit, losing his foot from the ankle down.

He saw the dinghy heading towards him and noticed his colleague was shouting and waving his arms

Mr Bonavia was assisted by people on the dinghy, who went to his aid when they heard his screams. A helicopter flew him to hospital.

Mr Bonello said in court that the dinghy’s licensed owner, Nicola Gambino, an Italian, was with him at the time of the accident. Mr Bonello got his maritime licence two days later.

Magistrate Stafrace found Mr Bonello guilty of operating the dinghy without a licence or insurance cover. He was also disqualified from holding a boat licence for a year.

The court did not order Mr Bonello to pay the costs of the magisterial inquiry, as this concluded that the accident had not been caused by his driving but because the snorkeller was in open sea without a marker buoy.