Whitby bridge 'fixed by Friday' (New video)

Tourist bosses from Welcome to Yorkshire said last night they hoped to clinch a deal with local operators to lay on more buses to take people from the west to the east side of the resort.

Scarborough Council says replacement parts have been ordered from Italy and will be imported by air freight this week.

It is expected the parts will be delivered in three days, with the council's engineers hoping to be in a position to install them on Thursday.

If all goes to plan, tests on the bridge will take place that

day, with it expected to re-open to traffic and pedestrians on Friday.

The council is continuing to stress that both sides of Whitby are still very much open for businesses, as did chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity yesterday.

Announcing measures to improve signs and lay on more guides to help bemused visitors, Mr Verity said: "Whatever happens with the bridge there is almost a Dunkirk spirit going on here."

However, as he boarded one of the ferries which have sprung up to take visitors from one side of the Esk to the other for 1 there were about 200 visitors and residents in the queue behind him.

Julie Lloyd, of The Ropery, Whitby, said: "It's a nightmare... shocking. I'm just glad the schools are on holiday or it would be even worse."

Canadian holidaymaker Andrea Lofthouse said: "If the bridge is broken why are we paying for the ferry? It feels like the situation is being monopolised.

"We have to wait 20 minutes for the ferry and people are also grumbling about the shuttle buses. "

The council arranged for a shuttle bus to transport people to and from the east and west sides of the town when it became apparent the fault with the bridge was more serious than at first thought. That is being increased to two shuttle buses.

This service is free to the public and will operate about every seven minutes throughout the period of the bridge closure. The shuttle buses will run from 6am to midnight.

But people sweltering in queues which stretched down the streets yesterday complained the wait was more like 20 minutes, and that was doubled for those at the back of the line who could not get on the bus and had to wait for the next one.

Judith Gibbon, of Beech Grove, Whitby, said: "It's horrendous and very inconvenient when it is normally only a couple of minutes into town across the swing bridge. It is a particularly bad time with so many visitors about. This has caused chaos."

Under fire from local traders, Scarborough Council has also ordered replica parts from Italy in case the problem happens again. But with the bridge expected to be back in operation by Friday, other temporary measures, such as providing a footbridge over the River Esk, have been ruled out.

John Riby , the council's head of technical services, said: "We have been working extremely hard to diagnose and fix the problem with the swing bridge since it jammed open last week.

"We realise it has caused inconvenience to residents, traders and visitors to Whitby and I would like to thank people for their patience and understanding."