Clacton: Terry enjoys top fishing conditions

From the archive, first published Thursday 26th Apr 2007.

IT'S a fisherman's life for Terry Stimpson!

The father-of-four from Tudor Green has been in the trade for 26 years, selling fish from Clacton Pier.

And he refused to let a major accident stop him from continuing.

Eighteen months ago he was returning to his pitch after an early-morning trip when his boat hit a navigation buoy.

He was thrown forward, splitting open his head and seriously injuring his back.

Six months of physiotherapy and acupuncture followed, but Terry is firmly back in the nautical saddle, and enjoying a successful trade.

"The fishing is very good this year - it's probably the best yet," he said.

"A lot of the spring fish, like skate, have come along early because of the good weather."

Terry, whose working day often starts at 2.30am, says that recent laws brought in to regulate the fishing industry have dramatically changed the trade.

"They have been coming in slowly over the last few years," he said.

"There used to be 14 boats like mine on the pier, but now it's just me.

"In a way that's a good thing because there's less competition, but it would help if there were two here really."

He added: "The new rules mean that you need to have a couple of million pounds worth of insurance, so it's made it very difficult to employ anybody to work with me."