A TOURIST service which was under threat of closure has reopened for the summer season.

Great Ayton Tourist Information office was opened in 1989 by Hambleton District Council.

It ran until 2005, when budget cuts meant the council could no longer fund it.

To plug the gap, Great Ayton Parish Council funded the information service last year.

This allowed the creation of Great Ayton Tourist Information (Gati), to try to secure the service in the long-term.

Funding has now been secured from several sources, including North Yorkshire County Council, to help run it this year.

The parish council has also agreed, along with Hambleton District Council, to support the venture again.

A GatiI spokesman said: "The fight for funding continues."

The Great Ayton service, in the car park in High Green, opened on Friday, May 4.

The office is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, and on Sunday, from 1pm to 4pm.

More details are available on 01642-722835 or from Gati, High Green car park, Great Ayton, Middlesbrough, TS9 6BJ.