Pleasure boat the WildCat has been vindicated after the Department of Marine and Ports deemed that no further action would be taken into an allegation that a woman injured her back during a ride on the vessel.

Following an investigation by both Marine and Ports and the Marine Police, it was decided that there was no evidence to suggest that dancing teacher Jeanne Legere injured her back on the boat last September.

The Royal Gazette revealed last year how Mrs. Legere, who runs Jackson School of Dance, was considering legal action after claiming that she felt her back "snap" while on a tour of the Island on the WildCat.

However, yesterday, after months of investigating, it was decided that there was nothing to suggest that Mrs. Legere's injury had actually been caused by the trip on the boat.

Director of Marine and Ports Barry Coupland said: "Based on the review of the circumstances of the incident, including the weather circumstances that day, sea conditions, speed and other considerations, and interviews with the operators of the WildCat Adventure Tours, as well as carefully reviewing the Marine Police Report - who conducted their own investigation and concluded that no offence was committed - Marine and Ports could find no evidence of wrong doing on the part of the boating company and, consequently, we saw no need for disciplinary action."

But Mr. Coupland said he had undertaken to carefully monitor the operation of the WildCat in the future to ensure and encourage the operators to use good judgement in managing their day-to-day operation in a professional and safe manner.

Last night, Mrs. Legere, from Pembroke, would not comment after hearing the statement from Marine and Ports.

But the family who run WildCat Adventure Tours said they were pleased the matter had finally concluded, but had always believed that the boat had not caused Mrs. Legere's injury.

Owner Edward Lawrence said: "We are pleased that Marine and Ports, and the Marine Police, have come to their conclusions and that they basically back up our statement that we did nothing wrong.

"We did everything in our power to ensure a safe and enjoyable tour and we will go on to do that. We are looking forward to the new season and hope this now brings a close to the matter."

Mrs. Legere said last year that she suffered from the early stages of osteoporosis, but said she believed the weather conditions that day, coupled with the speed of the boat, were not conducive to a smooth ride.

She claimed that she suffered a fracture to her vertebrae, resulting in her spending five days in hospital and having to wear a body brace for months.

However, Mr. Lawrence said the weather and sea conditions that day were good, and said nobody else had complained. In fact, he said many people on the boat went a second time the following day after the tour had to be brought to a premature end due to Mrs. Legere's back pain.

He said they had never received such complaints before, and every safety precaution was taken to ensure people had a good and enjoyable ride.

And he said the boat was chosen and bought for the tour because of its stability and safety assurance.

With regard to Mrs. Legere, he said there were qualified and experienced staff in charge of the boat that day, as always, and they had done everything possible for her.

Mr. Lawrence said the type of fracture suffered by Mrs. Legere was known to be a very common repetitive stress injury among ballet dancers and among people with osteoporosis.