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A speedboat driver with a vessel full of passengers crashed into a 15-year-old kayaker at up to 25mph.
Adam Russell, 28, was driving the single-engine speedboat, White Mischief, up the River Cleddau in Wales when its bow lifted and blocked his vision.
Six people, including children, were onboard at the time of the collision - near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire - which destroyed the unnamed teenager's kayak and left the victim with cuts and bruising to his arms and lower lip.
Russell was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for the incident on August 11, 2024.
The victim was in the water with his father and friends in brightly coloured kayaks and red life jackets.
The young kayaker spotted Russell's boat approaching him at speed and tried to paddle out of the way.
But the driver was unable to see the danger and changed course, smashing into the kayak and throwing the victim into the water.
Russell must also complete 15 hours of required activity and 200 hours unpaid work.
Speedboat driver Adam Russell, pictured, crashed into a 15-year-old kayaker at up to 25mph with a vessel full of passengers
The collision, near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, destroyed the unnamed teenager's kayak, pictured, and left the victim with cuts and bruising to his arms and lower lip
Russell was driving the single-engine speedboat, White Mischief, up the River Cleddau when its bow lifted and blocked his vision (pictured: a boat yard near the site of the crash)
He was ordered to pay the victim £1,676 in compensation plus £3,000 prosecution costs.
It is the first prosecution under the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023, introduced in 2024.
The act allows prosecution of anyone who puts others at risk by using powered watercraft in a dangerous manner, including small motorboats and jet skis.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency investigator Paul Atkins said: 'This case shows the importance of keeping a proper lookout and operating safely.
'It was a very close call - if circumstances had been only slightly different, there could have been a terrible tragedy.
'This prosecution, the first under new watercraft safety laws, sends a clear signal that people flouting the requirements that keep us all safe on the water are liable to be held accountable for their actions.'
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