CAMPAIGNERS battling against a multi-million pound seafront development have been blamed for costing council taxpayers around a quarter-of-a-million pounds in legal fees.

But protestors fighting the £88m Coatham Links development in Redcar, east Cleveland, have hit back and branded the claims as "absolute rubbish".

Persimmon Homes hopes to build 359 homes and leisure centre facilities on the seafront.

But the scheme has attracted considerable opposition.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council yesterday said The financial information - made available through a routine Freedom of Information (FOI) request - has shown protestors efforts to delay the consideration of the scheme has increased legal costs by 243,941 over a four-year period.

The council said the activities included a recent bid to register public rights of way across the proposed development area, a bid to delay the consideration of the development due to health and safety reasons and legal action to register the land as a village green.

All these have been rejected when considered by the appropriate independent bodies.

Councillor Glyn Nightingale, cabinet member for corporate resources, said: "Any proposal for a large development will cost a council money - this is inevitable in the first stages of negotiation, consultation and planning. It is only sensible that we meet these costs.

"However, as these figures highlight, we are increasingly concerned about the costs incurred through a small number of protestors' false claims and sabotage techniques designed to delay the consideration of the current proposals for the Coatham Links.

But campaigner Chris McGlade dismissed the claims. He said: "It is absolutely disgraceful the council are blaming Redcar ratepayers. It is a desperate attempt by the council to pass the buck because this whole scheme is an absolute disaster."