Sir – Rick Taylor (Letters, April 30) suggests that punts should be moored below Magdalen Bridge to deter bridge jumpers.

Until at least the 1960s it was the custom for boat-loads of revellers to gather above and below the bridge, complete with overnight picnics, musical instruments and even wind-up gramophones, complete with horns. Directly after the choir had finished singing, many of those below the bridge attempted to force a passage through the arches, while those above the bridge attempted to punt down.

Inevitably in the process, some punts were over-ridden and swamped and with the occupants scrambling on the next, already loaded punt, a chain reaction could easily ensue, with numerous craft sinking and equipment and presumably deposits being lost. I imagine that eventually the boat owners tired of this; I remember that on a subsequent May morning a few years later, the river was clear of boats.

John Webber, Brackley