PRICELESS buildings in need of renovation across Europe could finally be repaired - thanks to stone from the East Coast.

Yorkshire scientists are working on a £1m research project to rediscover what was once the world's fastest setting cement.

And stone mined from the Whitby area is proving vital to their efforts to master the long-forgotten technique.

Roman cement is a natural form of cement and can set hard in only 90 seconds, but it fell out of use at the beginning of the last century.

Many buildings across Europe, some of which are falling into disrepair, were originally rendered and decorated using such cement.

Restoration experts are reluctant to use modern forms of cement because these could damage the buildings they are trying to restore.

Despite its name, the cement has nothing to do with the Romans and was discovered when an English clergyman threw a rock on to a fire.

He then crushed the burnt rock and added water and found that the compound set hard in a few minutes.

In the 19th Century, Whitby was one of the three biggest producers of the cement in the UK, using locally-mined stones.

Now stones from those some mines are being used in the rediscovery project, which has sparked interest across Europe.

The project is being led by Bradford University and samples already produced there have proved successful.

Larger scale firings are planned for later in the three-year project, which is being carried out with the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria.

Dr Dave Hughes, leading the Bradford section of the project, said: "When you visit cities like Vienna or Paris as a tourist, you want to see buildings in good condition so this project really is about preserving our cultural heritage."