The south end of Blyth Promenade has been closed to the public ahead of Storm Ciarán's arrival in the North East.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain from 6am on Thursday (November 2) until 6am on Friday (November 3), with people being urged to stay away from the water's edge in other parts of the country due to "very dangerous conditions". In Northumberland, previous storms Agnes and Babet have washed away a "large amount" of sand on Blyth Beach.

This has caused Northumberland County Council to close the south end of Blyth Promenade. The council has also warned the public to after the sand being washed away caused a "significant" sudden drop along parts of the promenade - with the drop considered most dangerous at the southern end.

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Residents and visitors are being advised to keep away from the edge, and dog walkers are required to keep all pets on leads. Warning signs and highway lane barriers have been places along other parts of the promenade to alert the public to the increase safety risk.

Despite the closure of the southern end of the Promenade, the fireworks event at Blyth Beach on Saturday November 4 is still planned to go ahead at 4pm.

Coun Colin Horncastle, cabinet member for Looking after our Environment, said: "The council has been out to assess the situation at Blyth promenade this morning. Unfortunately, due to recent storms there has been major scour action along the coast that has stripped most of the sand from the beaches.

"This has increased the height of the drop between the beach and the promenade at Blyth to such an extent that in the interest of public safety, the council has taken the decision to close off the southern end and to place some other temporary barriers and warning signs out along the rest of the promenade until it is once again safe.

"This is not an easy decision, but the safety of our residents must take priority and we will monitor the situation and remove the barriers as soon as we are able to do so as the beach naturally recharges with sand. Thank you for your patience and understanding."