A COASTAL road in danger of falling into the sea near Whitby looks set to be saved after county councillors voted to back a £9 million scheme to halt the erosion.

The A174 between Whitby and Sandsend could disappear within two years without the work, members of North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive were told at a meeting yesterday.

The members voted to use an estimated £4.3 million of council capital reserves to fund the project, and must now wait for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to rubber-stamp a grant of £4.7 million to cover the rest.

Coun Chris Metcalfe said: “It’s got to the point where we have gone as far as we can doing patch and mend, but now it’s getting worse. I think that’s why there’s a realisation from Defra that something needs to be done before it falls into the sea.”