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A mum was left partially blinded after being badly crushed in front of her kids during a crash between two powerboats.

Jane Francis, 45, was left with life-changing injuries after the skippers bungled a stunt turn and rammed into each other off the Isle of May, Scotland.

The artist has about 40% sight loss and suffered several broken bones, broken ribs and a punctured lung, the Daily Record reports.

The boat trip company, Isle of May Boat Trips Ltd, has now been fined £12,000 after it admitted responsibility for the crash.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard it happened when two skippers were showing off by carrying out a "synchronised power turn" move.

She also suffered sustained damage to her diaphragm that required surgery in 2018 and has post traumatic stress disorder.

Mrs Francis said she has Purtscher's Retinopathy from the crash in July 2016, which happened while she was on a pleasure trip to view the wildlife.

She added: "This causes sight loss and damage to areas of the retina which see colour and surface detail.

"I have no sight in the central vision of my right eye. The remaining areas across both eyes have patches of missing sight."

The court heard the two skippers crashed the Osprey rigid inflatable 12-person vessels while they were showing off to passengers.

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The power turn was carried out to give them an "exhilarating" experience.

One skipper, Simon Chapman, told passengers it would make people on the nearby May Princess wish they had come on the powerboat trip instead of the cruise ship.

But when the boats completed their arc at speed they came back together closer than planned and one skipper swerved in the wrong direction.

Roy Giles, a director of the company, turned his vessel the correct way.

But Mr Chapman turned his in a port direction and ran into the boat, injuring Mrs Francis, who was on a day out with her husband.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: "The crushing injuries that she sustained caused severe damage to her eyesight which has been permanently impaired.

"There was no clear procedure in place for the skippers to follow when the synchronised power turn started to go wrong.”

The company admitted being in breach of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and being responsible for her injury and impairment.

It admitted it failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure the trip was carried out safely and failed to properly plan the power turn.

Fiscal depute Gavin Callaghan said the power turn had not been explained to the passengers, so they could not make an informed choice about whether to go on the trip.

The prosecutor said the boats would not have collided but for Mr Chapman's error.

Counsel for the firm, Gavin Anderson, said it no longer allowed skippers to do power turns and had taken other steps to improve on-board safety.

He said: "We wish to express the company's profound regret at causing a risk of injury and actual injury to Mrs Francis.”

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