The walkway from Maryport's marina will have to be removed temporarily due to a mechanical fault. 

It means people will not be able to walk across the Senhouse Dock entrance in the short term, but the dock gate will remain operational to seafaring traffic. 

The problem was identified during a regular maintenance inspection which revealed the gate’s mechanical system was under duress.

To alleviate the stress on the system, weight needed to be removed from the gate and the only option was to remove the walkway.

Now Maryport Harbour and Marina Limited is working with Smith Engineering (GB) Ltd, of Maryport, to find a solution to the problem so a replacement walkway may be installed as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, pedestrians can access the west side of the Senhouse Dock by continuing along Salmoor Way to the lighthouse.

Pauline Gorley, general manager of Maryport Harbour and Marina Limited, said: “We know that Maryport’s lovely harbour is a focal point of the town for local people and visitors alike and we hope they will accept our apologies for the inconvenience while this walkway is out of action.

“This action really is essential to retain an operational gate so that seafaring traffic have a floating marina.

"If the gate’s mechanism was to fail because of the additional weight it was carrying, that would be disastrous for the businesses and individual’s boats would be sitting in the mud.

"We will be working with the experts at Smith Engineering to resolve this issue and hopefully allow pedestrian access once more.”