A Lyme Bay diver said the seabed has taken a ‘remarkable turn for the better’ since the introduction of a widespread dredging ban three years ago.

Recreational diver Jon Eaves, who has more than 20 years’ experience, said the underwater world has changed beyond recognition, with new colonies of life thriving in the area.

It is since the government closed around 10 per cent of the bay – 60 square miles – to scallop dredging in 2008.

Environmentalists said the move would protect one of Britain’s richest marine environments, while local fishermen warned it would cost them their livelihood and the local economy millions of pounds.

Mr Eaves, 52, who averages around 50 dives a year mainly within the Beer Head to Burton Bradstock area, saw signs of recovery almost immediately.

But he is keen to point out that local vessels are not the prime cause of the need to regulate.

Mr Eaves said: “An interesting and fascinating aspect has been added to my sport as I have watched with great pleasure and interest as the seabed has changed beyond recognition these past few years.

“Prior to the introduction of the regulations, it was frequently the case to descend to the seabed to find a flat and lifeless peneplain, with broken shells and coral strewn everywhere, and stones laid out in disorganised lines marking the sides of each dredge run.”

As a result, he said, it was extremely rare to come across untouched areas.

“Almost immediately the regulations came into force the previously heavily-dredged and trawled areas showed signs of recovery,” he said.

Mr Eaves, from Beer, Devon, said large numbers of tiny queen scallops now populate the previously vacant areas, and the seabed is gradually developing multiple micro colonies of life.

This includes the delicate and slow-growing rose coral and fan coral, while molluscs such as tube worms are left safely intact.

Mrs Eaves said: “It has also been a pleasure to note increasing numbers of common skate and thornback rays, along with other bottom-dwelling fish, on the sandier patches which have been allowed to return.”

Mr Eaves said he has always expressed sympathy for the owners of the smaller local fishing vessels.

He said: “Their vessels have not been the prime cause of the need to regulate.

“The fishermen of this part of the coast should be saluted for their tolerance and acceptance of the necessary measures to protect the delicate underwater ecosystem seen by so few, but so devastatingly threatened by the larger, more powerful, vessels that previously visited these local waters with power and equipment that regularly ripped extremely large chunks of ledges and turned large boulders over in pursuit of their business to the long-term detriment of the submarine environment.”

He added: “The seabed of this part of Lyme Bay is quickly recovering, and whilst the need for some commercial exploitation cannot be ignored, with ongoing careful regulation and the continued co-operation of all parties, as in this instance, the future for the underwater world of this area has taken a most remarkable turn for the better.”