MORE money is on the way for an ageing seaside pier which is already in the throes of a £1m facelift.

The Heritage Lottery and the European Regional Development Funds are together providing £300,000 - equivalent to 68 per cent of the cost of additional work needed to preserve the long term future of Saltburn Pier, one of the most important surviving Victorian attractions in the region.

Serious structural defects in the legs of the pier head, not included in the original £1m restoration plans, were revealed during heavy storms earlier this year.

The extra cash now means the additional work can be included in the main restoration contract and a start can made before the Victorian structure takes another battering from the weather.

A low spring tide is due next week, with another at the end of September, enabling workers to spend longer on the pier. This means, with the green light now given for the additional funding, demolition of the pier head can be started and completed before the winter.

"It's brilliant news," said Peter Lane, head of leisure services for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. "This work is crucial to the overall scheme and the confirmation of the funding could not have come at a better time.''

According to Mr Lane, the main contract is already progressing well. He said: "It is well on target for completion next month.

"There will be more heavy machinery on the beach within the next few days, stripping the pier decking and helping with the demolition and removal of the legs.

"The main task is the demolition and stabilisation before the winter. The actual construction of the new pier head cannot take place until next year because there aren't enough spring tides to allow that work.''

The council is chipping in with a grant of £50,000 and the volunteer Friends of Saltburn Pier will provide the remaining £2,000 needed for the work on the pier head.