Excavation work to help prevent a landslide in Pennan after a 25-metre crack appeared on cliffs above the village will not start on Saturday.

Iain Gabriel, Aberdeenshire Council's director of transportation and infrastructure, said: "The works were conditional on a number of things, including land access and the detailed geotechnical advice.

"Since Wednesday, the consultants have been carrying out detailed assessments of how the required works could best be carried out.

"This has highlighted the need for some pre-stabilisation of the area above and surrounding the area of the crack.

"We appreciate that villagers may be frustrated by the delay, but the advice from our consultants is very clear and it is essential that any work to the slope is undertaken in the safest conditions possible."

Pennan and its red phone box became famous when it featured in Bill Forsyth's Bafta-winning Local Hero, which was made in 1983.

The film tells the story of an oil billionaire who wants to build a refinery in a Scottish coastal village.

Around the clock monitoring of the site will continue over the weekend, and the only road into the village has been closed to everyone except residents.