ANGRY protestors made their voices heard as a vintage bus became the first vehicle to climb the re-opened Loftus Bank, in east Cleveland, yesterday.

Residents and shopkeepers who believe the extended work has caused them unnecessary disruption gathered as the road was re-opened by local MP Ashok Kumar.

They say it could have been opened three weeks earlier, but was delayed for the ceremony.

A protestor said: "It could have been opened three weeks ago really. The council have dragged their heels. We have heard lots of excuses as to why it wasn't, including the cement was not set for the crash barriers."

Dr Kumar defended the work. He said: "This is a day of celebration and a lot of people have made a lot of effort. The road was meant to be reopened on Sunday, but we asked the experts and they brought it forward to today for this grand opening."

The bus, used in TV's Heartbeat series, climbed the bank, marking the end of one of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's most complex engineering contracts, £3m worth of government-funded work, with the final phase expected to finish nine days ahead of schedule.

The council's lead member for environment and infrastructure, Councillor Sylvia Szintal, said: "I think yesterday marked the end of a very difficult job that has been very well done.

"We know only too well the problems the Bank's closure has caused and we would not wish those difficulties on anyone, but this work has been absolutely essential for the road's long-term future."