A £16 million scheme to dump rocks on the beach around Scarborough’s iconic Spa complex has been sunk.

Council bosses have agreed instead to repair the Victorian sea wall and prop up the crumbling cliffs above the Grade Two listed building - just as campaigners wanted.

More than 2,500 people had petitioned against the proposals which were branded a “crime against tourism” and a massive waste of tax payers’ money.

Yesterday Scarborough Council said it was “re-prioritising” the scheme after new information came to light from a study.

Council members had agreed the preferred solution to replacing the aging sea wall was piling boulders on an area of the sands known as Children’s Corner.

But officials said new investigations had shown the cliff stabilisation works should be made a priority.

“The proposals require more immediate action and the council will be seeking to bring the works forward as soon as possible,” a spokesman said.

Sons of Neptune Leader Freddie Drabble said: "It is victory for the town and so many people played a part in it. The scheme would have caused massive economic damage and loss of heritage.

Surfers had also been concerned the scheme would be dangerous because it would take up so much of the shingle beach they would end up coming onto rocks rather than the beach.

Steve Crawford, of Surfers Against Sewage, said: “The South Bay is the safest place in the country to teach surfers because the waves are gentle. The sea defences would have made the currents stronger and forced people onto the rocks. It would have been very difficult to rescue them then without a helicopter.”