The expected bad weather brought strong winds and freezing temperatures to Whitby over the weekend.

High tide, coupled with the extreme weather, saw Whitby's Pier Road lashed with seawater on Friday afternoon.

Huge waves battered the coastline, with Sandsend in particular taking the brunt of dozens of massive swells.

The Environment Agency put flood warnings in place in the Sandsend area over the Easter weekend and a flood watch was in place for the whole of the east coast north of Filey to Saltburn. Police also closed the road into Sandsend on Saturday afternoon to prevent people taking risks with the waves.

But despite this, a number of thrill-seekers ignored the safety cordons and warnings and put their lives at risk by wave-dodging.

Their actions prompted a furious reaction from Coastguard officials.

A spokeswoman for Humber Coastguard told the Gazette: "People who take part in so-called wave-dodging just cause unnecessary problems.

"Not only are they putting their own lives at risk, but also the lives of people who may have to go and rescue them.

"People who are aware of the dangers report the incidents to us, but some people just are not aware of the dangers.

"When the weather is bad, like it has been, we would simply warn people to stand well back at all times."

Icy weather and snowfall over the Easter weekend made for treacherous driving conditions on Whitby roads.

But there were no reports of any serious road traffic accidents.

However, the traditional influx of tourists to Whitby over the holiday period was subdued due to the atrocious weather.

Though the majority of weekend breaks are booked in advance, not as many day visitors braved the wind, rain and snow and flocked to Whitby over the Easter period.

Former Chairman of the Whitby Hospitality Association Dick Brew told the Gazette: "The guesthouses and cottages are all booked in advance before people know what the weather is going to be like, so that wasn't really affected.

"But, in terms of day visitors, there were certainly less cars on the West Cliff and the bad weather meant there were less people prepared to spend a day out in Whitby."

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