Organisers of last weekend's Kingston Regatta have released a statement following its deliberate disruption by three people on a motor boat.

The boat drove at competitors and umpires during one race on the afternoon of Saturday 13 July.

One of the men aboard began screaming and swearing at the regatta's attendees as the boat swerved between the other craft, narrowly missing them before getting caught on one.

In a video circulated on social media, the man can be seen shouting "get the f*** off the river," as competitors attempt to row away from the oncoming motor boat.

Race staff called both the police and Environment Agency following the incident, with the latter "following up with appropriate action," according to Chris Radford, chair of Kingston Regatta Organising Committee.

A Kingston Rowing Club crewed by Year 10 students from Southborough High School. From front to back: Ethan Williams, Sinan Entwistle, Tymon Wojtasiak, Rodrigo Munguia, and Ben Butler. (Photo: Niall Smith)

In a statement to Nub News, Mr Radford said: "Kingston Regatta can confirm that there was an incident on Saturday afternoon at the event where we had to stop racing for 15 minutes.

"A motor boat with three people entered the racing course and declined to leave the area when we asked them to do so. 

"As soon as we identified there was a motor boat on the race course the umpires stopped the racing to ensure the safety of the athletes. We then waited until the race course was clear and safe before restarting the racing. This took about 15 minutes.

"We have referred the matter to the Environment Agency who are the enforcement authority with regard to the river."

He added: "The regatta regrets that we had to delay things."

The regatta's team quickly recovered following the incident, with the day's last race finishing just five minutes later than planned.

Thankfully, competitors seemed unphased by the incident, going on to enjoy the weekend of rowing.

One team of Year 10 students from Southborough High School in Surbiton were especially excited for their second ever regatta since joining Kingston Rowing Club in September last year.

Niall Smith, the school's headteacher, was on the riverside himself to support the team.

He thanked Kingston Rowing Club for hosting Southborough's budding team, commenting: "The boys have made great progress and are really enjoying it." 

The full results of Kingston Regatta can be found on the group's site here.