MUD and silt has reached such a depth in one of the region's most popular harbours that yacht owners are threatening to boycott the resort's prestigious marina, it is claimed.

One user has blamed a lack of maintenance for the situation at Whitby, North Yorkshire, and warns boat owners could set sail for rival marinas in Hartlepool, Sunderland and Bridlington, unless action is taken.

Boat builder Mike Coates is being supported by local councillors in his call to have Scarborough Borough Council carry out an urgent clean-up operation.

He claims yachtsmen have to wade knee deep through mud to reach land after berthing their craft.

Mr Coates, who owns one of the largest yachts in the harbour, said: "Often, at low tide, there is up to 15 metres of exposed soft sand - a direct lack of maintenance by Scarborough Council. It is impossible to either launch or recover a dinghy for several hours at low tide."

He said that, as a result, he and other yacht owners could only be at sea for four hours a day.

Mr Coates urged an upgrade of the marina along with moorings for dinghies.

But the authority's head of harbours and engineering services, Keith Allen, insisted that the vast majority of users were satisfied with the work carried out after the area was hit by last winter's atrocious weather conditions.

"We had a huge amount of water coming down, bringing with it a huge amount of silt which we then had to dig out," he said.

"We are talking about thousands of tonnes here and the vast majority of boat owners were happy with the silting work."