'Dangerous' seafront railings to be replaced

Damaged railings on the seafront at Hornsea

Railings on the East Yorkshire coast are being replaced again.

Winter storms have damaged the barriers along the Hornsea and Withernsea seafronts.

The National Coastwatch Institute (NCI) says this poses a “danger” to the public in Hornsea, due to the size of the drop from the promenade to the beach.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) says it has asked contractors to repair the railings “as soon as possible”.

Those along the shoreline at Hornsea have been damaged and replaced more than once but another storm has left parts bent and bowed.

Huge stones from the beach at Hornsea get washed up during storms and the railings take quite a battering.

However, it is the newer railings that need to be replaced.

'It's disgusting'

One resident told BBC Radio Humberside: “Honestly, it’s disgusting.

“I bet they’ve hardly been paid for. It was only last year. I know you get cobbles but those on the seafront have been there years, [since] the prom was built.

“The stones are excessive. I have never seen anything like this.”

Railings put up in front of the NCI Hornsea Station have disappeared.

Malcolm Herring, NCI technical officer, said: “Three times they have disappeared. The first time was the big storm last year and they replaced them.

“The next big storm came along and they went again. And now, just the other day, they have fallen over a third time.

“It’s a danger because that prom is so high above the beach. For safety reasons there needs to be railings there. There is a 2m (6.5ft) drop.”

'Severe weather'

A spokesperson for ERYC said it is aware of the damage.

In a statement they said: "The frequent storms and severe weather of the winter months have caused some significant problems to sections of the seafront railings at Hornsea and Withernsea.

“Some sections have had to be replaced several times. We are working closely with our contractors... and have asked them to repair them as soon as possible and bring them back up to the required standard."

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