A PLEA to Hampshire's harbour bosses to keep the "ordinary man" on the River Hamble has won the backing of scores of mooring holders.

The heads of the River Hamble Mooring Holders Association have been flooded with support for their response to a planned shake-up of mooring management on the popular stretch of water.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the association's committee has welcomed proposals being floated by the Hamble's overseers - Hampshire County Council and the Crown Estate - to place the management of the much sought-after moorings in the hands of river users themselves.

Now members of the association have given their backing to the committee, which has also called for mooring charges to be kept down.

At the group's autumn meeting, more than 100 river users heard how the committee had replied to the harbour authority's proposals focusing on the future management and charges.

Secretary David Davis has told county chiefs that they "have an obligation to the community they serve, to provide a range of moorings at prices that do not exclude 'the ordinary man'.''

The response of members to the words has delighted chairman Roger Daw.

He said: "This was the first time that we had had a chance to consult our membership but I am glad to say there was a concordance of views about the letter we had already submitted.

"The response we have made already has been supported by the membership."

Recommendations on the future of the river Hamble moorings will go before the county council's river management committee in January.