A MAJOR £50 million investment in improving bathing water in Scarborough has been completed.

MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Robert Goodwill, joined councillors, traders and residents to help mark the completion of the work by unveiling an official commemorative plaque.

They also toured Yorkshire Water’s Burniston waste water treatment works, including a state-of-the-art ultraviolet treatment facility which is the first of its kind in the region and rids the water of bugs before it is discharged back into the sea.

Other improvements in the project include a 30-metre deep storm water storage tank, capable of holding four million litres of storm water, three huge new storm water pumps, capable of pumping 3,500 litres a second, and five kilometres of pipework.

Mr Goodwill said: “It’s great news that Scarborough can now boast even cleaner sea water as a result of this investment. Residents and visitors alike can continue to enjoy the towns beaches and bathing waters with great confidence that the water is of top quality.”

Tony Willey, Yorkshire Water’s chief engineer, said: “After three years of hard work it is great to be able to show off our £50 million investment for the resort. We can now provide storage for an additional 14 million litres of storm water and have provided an extra boost to water quality with the new ultraviolet treatment facility.”

He thanked the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership, including the Environment Agency, local councils and Welcome to Yorkshire, for all its support over the years.