Last house on cliff edge demolished as others fall into the sea

The last house standing along this stretch of Norfolk coastline is now being demolished (Picture: Terry Harris)

The last home left standing on a cliff gradually crumbling away due to erosion has been demolished.

Homes along the cliffside in the village of Hemsby, Norfolk have been gradually vacated and demolished due to the risk of collapsing into the sea.

This weekend the final home on the street has met the same fate.

Since the start of October, at least 1.8 metres (6ft) of the Hemsby dune has been lost to the sea – and it’s feared storms over winter will cause further erosion.

Villagers in the coastal village were forced to evacuate their homes in March after stormy weather and a high tide threatened to undermine their homes.

Helped out of their homes by the Coastguard, residents watched as patio slabs from their gardens slipped into the sea.

Five homes later had to be demolished, the BBC reports.

One resident even took the drastic step of dragging his home across the road to prevent it falling into the sea, as he was determined to keep living in the village with its views of the North Sea.

The last house standing, pictured on Thursday (October 26), days before its demolition began (Picture: SWNS)

The home is now almost completely gone (Picture: Terry Harris)

But the issue of erosion has persisted, with a cliff fall earlier this week leaving the last home in question dangerously close to the edge – forcing its demolition this weekend.

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Two weeks ago the house lost its garden shed during high tides.

Great Yarmouth borough council said earlier this week it was ‘in discussion with the property owner in relation to potential demolition’ and that it had ‘offered all the appropriate support at this difficult time’.

But now it seems the home’s time is up, as a demolition team was sent on behalf of the council to start work on Saturday morning.

Daniel Hurd, coxswain of Hemsby’s independent lifeboat, said he had spoken to the homeowner who is ‘heartbroken’ at losing her home.

‘It’s very sad for her and very sad for the crew to be here watching this happen. It’s not nice for anyone,’ he said.

Aerial pictures taken in 1993 (bottom), 2015 (middle) and March 11 2023 showing the cliff erosion at the south end of Hemsby beach (Picture: Mike Page/SWNS)

Villagers were recently told the village did not qualify for ‘sufficient government funding’ for a sea defence scheme to go ahead.

It’s thought the original £15 million needed for the project, which was granted planning permission, had risen to about £20 million due to inflation.

A statement by the Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, Sir Brandon Lewis, along with local authorities, warned that Hemsby faced the ‘inevitable situation of losing more properties’, including a private access road leading down to the beach.

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