CYCLISTS and pedestrians fear a serious accident is 'inevitable' at a popular Largs walkway unless fencing is repaired.

The barrier has become unsteady at the top of the seafront walkway between Largs Pencil and Bowen Craig, directly opposite the wooden railway bridge entrance which leads to Walkerston Avenue and Rockland Park.

Walkers have patched up a gaping hole in the frayed fence leading to a 20 foot drop, although it remains on the brink of collapse.

Cyclist Ken Hamilton, from West Kilbride, is a regular visitor to the town and says urgent action is required.

He said: "It is dangerous. The fencing is loose and it is very ragged in places. It is completely unsafe.

"There is a drop of around 25 feet. You are talking about broken bones or worse if you were to fall through it.

"If you go off your bike that fence is not going to hold on to you." Largs man Sean Piggott regularly uses the beach walk and says he was shocked to see the fence's state of disrepair.

He said: "The council need to take a look at it before someone badly injures themselves. It is an accident waiting to happen unless something is done."

Walkers David and Lindsay Patten said: "It doesn't even need to be slippy - if somebody was to fall they could easily tumble down that drop to the shore.

"It is right that this matter is highlighted."

Another cyclist said: "I was passing last weekend and noticed the damage.

"I am glad to see some local do-gooders have managed to fill the hole but the fence is still in a bad way and somebody could easily fall through during the more wintry conditions."

Cllr Tom Marshall says he is willing to take up the case with the local authority.

He said: "Children regularly climb down the hill and use the beach - and you can actually see a rope there to help them climb up and down it - and because the fence has been so regularly used it has become loose.

"I can clearly see that there is a problem and something needs to be done. It is in a bad way and it is also ragged in other areas.

"It has never been as bad as that and needs to be highlighted so I will make a report about it and send it to North Ayrshire Council."

If you see any other areas of concern on the seafront walkway, you can use the North Ayrshire Report It App.