Port bosses are investigating whether wood washed up on beaches across Sussex caused major damage to a harbour lock.

The Prince George Lock at Shoreham Harbour, which allows access for non-commercial vessels into the canal at the port, was damaged beyond repair and will cost thousands of pounds to replace.

Investigators are looking into whether timber planks from the stricken cargo ship Ice Prince, which sunk off the coast of Dorset last month, caused the damage.

As a result of the damage, the lock has been taken out of action.

To allow non-commercial vessels in and out of the harbour, the port's other lock, the Prince Philip, will accommodate both the larger commercial ships and smaller leisure craft until it is repaired.

Rod Johnstone, port chief executive, said: "All we know at the moment is that at 9.30pm, our port controller heard a very loud bang and that the western gate on the Prince George Lock was letting water out of the lock.

"Thankfully our safety procedures meant that the impact of the incident was kept to a minimum and no one was hurt. We're not sure what caused the gate to fail but we are investigating and endeavouring to repair the gate as quickly as possible.

"It may take up to six months for us to redesign and rebuild the gate in which time we will be doing everything possible to ensure the smooth running of the port.

"I'd like to apologise to the owners of the vessels moored in the canal for any inconvenience but we really are doing everything humanly possible to find out what happened and to replace the gate as quickly as possible."

The lock has been drained to allow investigators to examine the scene, with the bolts and other debris recovered being sent away for tests.

A spokesman for the port authority said: "Something has exerted a tremendous amount of pressure on that lock gate and caused it to burst open.

"It's not off its hinges completely but it has been damaged to a degree where it was letting out water."

The damage was discovered on Friday, January 25.

Thousands of tons of wood were washed up on beaches across Sussex after the stricken Ice Prince ran into trouble on January 15.

Contractors are still in the process of clearing up the timber.