The Mellieha council and the mayor have denied any responsibility in the circumstances which led to the drowning of a young policeman at Cirkewwa on December 2.

In a reply to a judicial letter filed by the policeman's heirs last week, in which they demanded compensation, the council said the allegations made in the letter were unfounded. It said the Cirkewwa quay and Gozo Channel operations were not the council's responsibility and it was clear that the quay was not even within the council's boundaries.

PC Kurt Gauci, 21, from Victoria, wanted to catch the ferry to Gozo when he drove his dark green Hyundai Accent onto the wrong quay and plunged into the sea.

The Gauci family claimed compensation from the Prime Minister, five ministers, the Attorney General, the Police Commissioner, the chairman of Gozo Channel, the mayor and councillors of Mellieħa and even the captain of the MV Ta' Pinu, which was operating at the time of the incident.

Also brought into the judicial letter were police officers at the Mellieħa police station, the chairman and board members of Transport Malta, the Customs Comptroller as well as Polidano Group and Terracore Limited, which were carrying out works on the Ċirkewwa terminal project. The Gauci family said the named entities were responsible for the tragic death of their son and brother because of negligence and lack of observance of basic safety rules.

The Mellieha council and mayor said today they were holding the family responsible for damages, resulting from their judicial letter.

The aim of the family's letter where it concerned the council, it said, was just an attempt to sensationalise a tragic situation.

Legal action should be taken within the law and should aim to preserve the spirit of the law.

The council gave the family two days to declare that it did not have anything to do with the matter.