THE tourist season has got off to a brisk start on the Yorkshire coast, with hotels and traders reporting brisk business as a result of the warm weather.

Thousands of people have been flocking to Scarborough in temperatures of nearly 60F - well above the March average - and warmer than some resorts in the Mediterranean.

The resort's tourism director Peter Dahl said: "It proves more and more that Scarborough and the whole of the Yorkshire coast are year-round destinations."