A MAJOR coastal protection scheme for Skinningrove has been completed ahead of schedule.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is delighted with the results of the £680,000 project, which has provided an additional boost to the village - a slipway for launching fishing boats.

The council's cabinet member for strategic planning, development and infrastructure, Councillor Eric Empson, said: "We've been given a real, value-added scheme, with plenty of benefits for the residents.

"This is another piece of essential work to protect the village from the elements, increasing the level of protection from coastal flooding to one-in-a-100-year storm events."

Construction contractor, Volker Stevin Limited, of Gateshead, started on site in July, carrying out the excavation and replacement of 3,300 tonnes of storm-damaged rock armouring and a further 6,636 tonnes of imported rock armour.

With grant aid from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the work has also involved removing 6,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel to widen the beck and open up the channel under the third span of the Beach Road bridge.

To reduce costs and minimise the effects on the environment, 2,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel is being reused to improve the fishing boat park and another 350 cubic metres is going to Skinningrove Link Up to landscape its planned park and garden.