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'It's eating away at my garden': Drone footage shows homes teetering on cliff edge in Kent

A month of rain has seen more and more land collapse into the sea at Eastchurch, in Kent, leaving houses just feet from the edge.

The home (left) of Edd Cane, on the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: Residents in the Isle of Sheppey are worried their homes will plunge over the cliff edge
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Dramatic drone pictures have revealed houses just feet away from a collapsing Kent cliff that has already seen one home tumble over the edge.

A month of rain has seen more land collapse into the sea at Eastchurch, with residents having to watch as their homes get closer and closer to the precipice.

Images show the sheer scale of the issue facing the coastal village on the Isle of Sheppey.

Edd Cane, stands in his garden which now sits next to the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: Edd Cane, stands in his garden which now sits next to the cliff edge

Only a few feet of land remains between some houses and the brink, with pictures showing the huge hole where a house once stood before it fell in June last year.

Edd Cane, who has lived in his Eastchurch home for 15 years, says residents feel abandoned.

He said: "It's eating away at my garden.

The home (left) of Edd Cane, on the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: A month of rain has seen more and more land collapse into the sea at Eastchurch

"The last council bloke who came down asked: 'Do you feel safe in your house?' and I said: 'What do you think? I don't think so, do you?'."

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Mr Cane's house once sat 25 metres (82ft) back from the cliff edge, behind another house and further land.

The home of Edd Cane, on the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: The collapse was attributed to the "devastating impacts of coastal erosion" by the fire service at the time

But cliff falls last year saw a family home left partially suspended over a sheer drop and eventually falling, along with a car.

The collapse was attributed to the "devastating impacts of coastal erosion" by the fire service at the time.

The home (left) of Edd Cane, on the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: Now Mr Cane, 66, says as little as 15ft (4.8m) separates his home from the edge

Now Mr Cane, 66, says as little as 15ft separates his home from the edge, and other houses may be closer.

The drone pictures show the scale of the devastation to the island community and the continued risk posed to residents.

The home (top centre) of Edd Cane, on the cliff edge in Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, where residents continue to find a way to save their homes from plunging over the cliff edge. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021. Picture date: Thursday March 4, 2021.
Image: Only a few feet of land remains between some houses and the brink, and the huge hole where a house once stood before it fell in June last year.

He added: "I have already been told by the council representative that if it gets much closer to my house they will but a demolition order on it and I will be expected to pay to have my house demolished.

"If that's not rubbing salt in the wound, I don't know what is."