CONISTON Records Week ended in drama with scenes reminiscent of Donald Campbell’s fatal crash.

Brit sailor Keith Whittle left the audience gasping in terror when his powerboat somersaulted in the air and crashed onto the water, as the event came to an end on Friday afternoon.

“I could hear the engine and then I could just hear silence and I knew something had happened,” said Martin Campbell, who attended the event.

“Obviously you’re aware that these things can happen, and do happen.

“But there was spontaneous applause when he was brought back to shore.”

Amazingly Mr Whittle, of Twickenham, suffered nothing more than bruising.

The sailor, who became a grandad four weeks ago, had broken the world record in his Formula 2 class just seconds earlier with an average speed of 132.18mph.

His was the final record attempt of the week, in his 200hp boat, Pepstar, and he had just smashed past the final marker on his return leg at a speed of 134mph.

“It looked like the sponson lifted up in the air,” said Records Week spokesman, Glynn Cunliffe.

“It could have been a gust of wind that did it.” The scene was eerily similar

to the crash which killed Donald Campbell on Coniston in 1967 as he attempted to beat the world record in his boat, Bluebird.

Mr Campbell’s boat, travelling at around 300mph, also completed a somersault in the air before plunging down into the water, where Mr Campbell was instantly killed.

“Keith was very lucky,” continued Mr Cunliffe. “He was checked out by the rescue officers and paramedics and was told he was fine.

“The safety of boats has improved and this is testament to that.”

Coniston’s 43rd annual week of record-breaking saw the world’s best powerboaters, from as far away as America, take to the water.

Within hours of the event opening, Lancashire man Ben Morse, 19, had become the new world record holder for the F4S class with a speed of 73.21mph.

Hundreds of local people and visitors turned out to cheer from the shore as the sailors powered between the jetty by the Bluebird Cafe and the southern end of the water by Peel Island.

Around 60 volunteers helped run the event, which saw a total of 10 national records and nine world records broken.