FELIXSTOWE Ferry Golf Club has reviewed its safety procedures after stray balls injured walkers on a public footpath.Health and safety officials have said that the golf club has put in a number of new safety features, which will be monitored by Suffolk Coastal council.

FELIXSTOWE Ferry Golf Club has reviewed its safety procedures after stray balls injured walkers on a public footpath.

Health and safety officials have said that the golf club has put in a number of new safety features, which will be monitored by Suffolk Coastal Council.

The action comes after a man was hit in the face with a golf ball causing £351 worth of damage to his glasses.

Several people who have taken a walk along the sea wall by the golf course have told The Evening Star how they suffered injuries or had been involved in near misses with miss-hit balls.

One woman can no longer walk to the Ferry after a ball struck her in the back with so much force that she had to have eight months of physiotherapy. She said it had been such a shock when the ball hit her that she is too petrified to walk along her favourite stretch of the shore for fear of being struck again.

After the latest reported incident, on July 7, where Michael Kent was hit in the face, the golf club said they would review safety procedures and discuss them with health and safety officials at Suffolk Coastal.

The club said they understood that people walking on the sea wall had a right to enjoy the walk in safety. They added that risk assessment and prevention had been a preoccupation of the club's committee for many years and as a result many safety strategies had already been put in place.

Philip Gore, food and safety service manager for Suffolk Coastal, would not disclose the details of the new safety scheme but said what was being put in place was going to be monitored by the council.

It is thought that one of the club's longer-term plans is to alter the lay out of the course so golf balls are less likely to stray in to a walker's path.

Mr Gore said a safety technician had been sent to the golf course to discuss the problems and the changes needed. He also said the club had taken the matter seriously.

The club has kept a record of all the balls, which had been hit off-line, and had held a meeting to remind members of the golf club to shout 'fore' to make passers-by aware of the danger.

The club manager was unavailable for comment.