Access to Douglas beach restored after waves damaged stairs

The beach at Port Skillion is popular with swimmers

Access to a beach on the east coast of the Isle of Man has been restored after being damaged by storms.

The stairs at Port Skillion in Douglas have been rebuilt by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI).

The decision to close off the area was taken after heavy seas damaged the previous structure in 2021, leaving it a safety risk.

Douglas Councillor Andrew Bentley said the area was "nice and safe" once again.

Additional repairs to a plinth in the area were carried out behalf of the council while the DOI works were completed.

Andrew Bentley said further landscaping work could be done at the site

Mr Bentley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that those works were carried out at the same time to take advantage of the fact the contractor was already working in the area.

The additional repairs would "avoid any future health and safety issues that might occur", he said.

The council was now considering "doing a bit of landscaping" in the area to "make it a bit prettier", he added.

Swimmer Susan Chalmers said the improvements were welcomed by those who regularly used the area as it had been "a bit of a mess" previously.

"I think the facility down here is lovely, it's tidied everything up," she added.