Hemsby: Cliff-top homes due to be demolished as collapse risk grows
- Published
Watch: Shed topples as Hemsby cliff collapses at high tide
Three homes close to the cliff edge in Norfolk are due to be demolished as high tides cut into sandy cliffs.
A number of residents have left their wooden properties in The Marrams in Hemsby, some of which are within 1m (3.2ft) of the edge and are at risk of collapse.
Several outbuildings have already succumbed as high tide hit at about 21:00 GMT on Friday.
The next high tide is due at about 09:30.
Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth, is home to about 3,000 people and was once home to a Pontins holiday camp.
The coastline has been hit by severe erosion in recent weeks and the beach has been closed since 25 February. This week's punishing weather conditions and high tides have left at least three homes in immediate danger.
Fire crews knocked on doors on Friday and urged anybody still in the affected properties to leave their homes.
The only access road to properties on the Marrams has been cordoned off and is expected to collapse. As the sea rose on Friday, a shed and a playhouse toppled over the cliff.
Hemsby Independent Lifeboat crew rescued two chickens that were still in the shed.
Daniel Hurd, coxswain, with the lifeboat crew said it had been a "long old night".
The Highways Agency got the road blocked off on Friday evening and BT responded to a telegraph pole that was tilting on the edge.
"Luckily we managed to get that onto the beach and not risk public safety by it falling on top of them," he said.
"My understanding is that a demolition order has been put in place and I think that's for three properties to the north of this gap [towards Winterton]."
He added that the "wind has dropped off and the sea is currently flat as a pancake" and that the crew would now "see where today takes us".
"We can only wish for this weather and the sea state over the weekend," he said. "If we'd had that [before] we wouldn't have had any damage... but it's going to happen [eventually] and we just need to get something in place to try to stop it eroding away the face of the dunes constantly."
Seven bungalows along The Marrams had to be demolished when sandy cliffs washed away in March 2018 and, in December 2013, "the worst storm surge in 60 years", destroyed seven homes.
Emergency services are working with officers from Great Yarmouth Borough Council. The council says it is working on a solution but has to make sure it is compliant with the law.
Last year, a 1.3km (0.8 mile) rock berm at the base of the cliff was approved in principle, but the council funding for the £15m scheme was "challenging to obtain", with just £2.5m available from the government.
On Friday, chief executive, Sheila Oxtoby, said: "We are looking at a temporary solution to bringing some rock on the beach to protect the road access to a number of other properties.
"So at the same time as dealing with the immediate issue, we're also looking at how we can use our emergency powers to provide a temporary rock berm solution to give us more time for the main scheme."
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