Cumbria County Council is to reopen the B5300 Allonby to Silloth road at Dubmill Point at about 5pm today.

The road was closed on Saturday for public safety because of debris caused by a combination of exceptionally strong winds, severe rainfall and high tides.

A temporary 30mph limit will be in place on this stretch of the B5300 when it reopens.

Council highways teams have cleared widespread debris from the road and inspections have shown that the road surface does not appear to be damaged.

However, the severe weather has punched a number of holes through sea defences along a stretch of road covering about a quarter of a mile at Dubmill Point, completely destroying some gabion baskets (wire bales of stones) which protect the road from the beach.

The council will be rebuilding these road defences and the speed limit is being reduced from 60mph to 30mph on this section partly to protect the safety of highways teams when they are working in the road.

The speed limit is also being reduced as a precaution to protect the public in case any subsidence becomes apparent later on this stretch of road.

County council highways teams will be monitoring the condition of the road on a daily basis.

Repair work is expected to cost a six figure sum (in excess of £100,000) and is likely to take a number of weeks to complete.

Another storm is expected in the area on Wednesday 5 February, and the council has not yet started any significant structural repair work.