More than a dozen staff at a newly formed college serving Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft are at risk of redundancy.

The 15 staff at East Coast College could face losing their jobs following a consultation set up in April following the merger of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft colleges.

The consultation had originally proposed the restructure may lead to 31 full time equivalent jobs being shed - but that number has now been reduced to 15.

A statement from East Coast College said: 'The overall restructure proposal presented in April suggested a reduction in staffing of 31 FTEs. To-date, consultation has been successfully closed with seven teams and the number of staff at risk of redundancy has almost halved to just 15.

'Due to the sensitive and inconclusive nature of this consultation period it is unfair on individuals to disclose further details at this stage.

'However we are working as compassionately as possible with staff to achieve a fair and equitable outcome for all affected, with our priority being the preservation and development of our students' experience.'

The college says the merger of the two colleges provided an opportunity to realise efficiencies through shared services, reducing cost base and economies of scale.

This combined with increasing Governmental pressure arising from reductions in funding and increases in pensions and National Insurance contributions has resulted in a proposal to reduce total the workforce - leading to the start of the consultation.

East Coast College will educate more than 7,000 students on vocational courses across its two campuses from September.