A FRESH call will be made for the Government to carry out an investigation into whether offshore dredging has contributed to large losses of land on the East Riding coast.

In the past year, unprecedented chunks of cliff measuring almost three times the length of a double-decker bus have disappeared into the sea.

East Riding Council wrote to the Government requesting an independent study into whether offshore dredging is a factor in the high rates of erosion.

However, officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) say a series of studies have already been carried out and no link was made between the erosion and dredging.

Monitoring of the region's coastal erosion has shown 89ft (27m) sections of land have vanished to the north and south of Withernsea.

East Riding Council have invited new Environment Agency chairman, Lord Smith of Finsbury, to see first hand the effects of coastal erosion and to ask for a research study to be commissioned.

According to the latest figures, 4.48 million tons of aggregates were dredged from the Humber region in the past year. Dredging takes place in a number of areas, including sites near Easington and Spurn Point.

A Defra spokesman said: "All dredging applications are rigorously assessed for any adverse effects and for potential contribution to erosion. There is no evidence that authorised aggregate dredging has had any impact on the coast."

Derek Crook lost his home in Seaside Lane, Tunstall, near Withernsea, to coastal erosion last year and now lives in a caravan yards from the cliff edge.

The 68-year-old said: "I do believe dredging has a big impact on coastal erosion. It is not allowed on the continent and it seems crackers we allow this to go on around our coast."