Summary

  • Residents in Hemsby, Norfolk, are evacuated from their cliff-top homes amid fears they could topple into the sea

  • There are fears a road undermined by the sea could be washed away

  • Wintry weather and high tides have led to erosion on the sandy cliffs

  • Fire crews have knocked on doors, urging anybody still in the affected properties to leave

  • It is understood up to three homes are at immediate risk

  • High tide hit the coastline on Friday night

  • Video: Watch the moment a shed topples into the sea

Live Reporting

Kate Scotter, Jon Ironmonger and Laurence Cawley

  1. Tide starts to subside as village prepares for the morning

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    The tide is beginning to subside now and the lifeboat team are taking a breather.

    In spite of a few hail showers and flurries of heavy snow, the fierce weather hasn’t materialised and it’s hoped there will be little more damage to the coastline tonight.

    But there’s another high tide at about 09:30 tomorrow morning.

    Thank you for being with us this evening. We'll bring you the latest from Hemsby tomorrow.

  2. Home now close to the edge

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    House at cliff edgeJon Ironmonger/BBC

    One of the properties at risk in Hemsby

    One of the most at-risk homes is now just a metre (3ft) from the cliff edge.

    Excavator at HemsbyJon Ironmonger/BBC

    Heavy machinery has been brought in to demolish threatened homes before they tumble onto the beach below

    Tomorrow morning, the home is likely to be demolished by this excavator along with two other properties in Hemsby.

  3. Ground collapse leaves mains pipe suspended

    Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    water pipeJon Ironmonger/BBC

    The blue water pipe which was previously below ground

    This blue pipe is an exposed water main.

    Just a few hours ago it was buried beneath the ground.

    But in the past few hours the soil around it has been torn away by the sea leaving it exposed and suspended in mid air.

  4. Pole to topple 'if not tonight then tomorrow'

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    Chris Batten inspecting a telegraph poleJon Ironmonger/BBC

    I'm currently with Chris Batten, from Hemsby Independent Lifeboat, who is inspecting a telegraph pole.

    At the moment the telegraph pole is still connected.

    Chris says despite this, it is close to toppling “if not tonight then tomorrow”.

  5. 'I'm extremely angry, disappointed and upset'

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    Lorna Bevan, landlady at the Lacon Arms, set up the Save Hemsby Coastline Charity in 2013.Jon Ironmonger/BBC

    Lorna Bevan, landlady at the Lacon Arms, set up the Save Hemsby Coastline Charity in 2013.

    Lorna Bevan, landlady at the Lacon Arms, set up the Save Hemsby Coastline Charity in 2013.

    "For 10 years we have been fighting to get some sort of protection for our coastline.

    "I'm extremely angry, disappointed and upset and the list continues."

    The charity has been pushing for a rock berm at the base of the cliff which would provide some protection from the erosion.

    "Everything that has been done has been because of the Save Hemsby Coastline or the lifeboat guys."

    She says the village is waiting for the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to approve the plans.

    The MMO says it has been "working proactively" with the council to streamline the requirements for the application.

    A spokesperson said: "The marine licence application is on hold awaiting further information on the Environmental Impact Assessment decision from Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

    "Once this information is received the MMO will proceed to make a determination on the application as soon as possible."

  6. Police to cordon off access road to prevent use

    Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    The police are now moving down towards the access road we mentioned earlier to cordon it off.

    The road is the only access road to properties on The Marrams.

    Many here fear it will soon collapse.

    The access roadJon Ironmonger/BBC

    The road is the only access road to properties on The Marrams

  7. Pub turned into lifeboat's unofficial 'crisis HQ'

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    The pub turned into crisis HQJon Ironmonger/BBC

    At the local pub, The Lacon Arms, the lifeboat crew has set up what has dubbed “crisis HQ”.

  8. Hemsby: What is the latest?

    Kate Scotter and Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    • Three homes on the cliff might be demolished "as soon as possible"
    • They include one to the south and two to the north of the lifeboat station
    • Chickens were rescued from a shed by the Hemsby Independent Lifeboat team just moments before the building collapsed onto the beach below
    • A children's playhouse was the first casualty as high tide approached

  9. Concerns voiced about the water main to eight properties

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    I’m told this access road has been significantly undermined by the sea.

    The scene tonight in HemsbyJohn Ironmonger/BBC

    The access road beyond the cordon has been seriously undermined by the sea beneath

    There are about eight homes at the other end of the road.

    Concerns have also been voiced about the water mains to those properties.

  10. Road is close to collapse

    We've heard a road is close to collapse. Our reporter Jon Ironmonger is on his way there and we will post updates as soon as we get them.

  11. Freezing temperatures faced by emergency teams

    Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    The temperatures faced by those working in Hemsby tonight are set to dip to freezing or below after midnight.

    It is currently about 1C (33.8F) but will feel colder because of the wind coming off the sea.

  12. Three homes might be demolished - coxswain

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    Daniel HurdAlex Dunlop/BBC

    Three homes on the cliff might be demolished "as soon as possible".

    Daniel Hurd, the coxswain at Hemsby Lifeboat, said: "They are on the brink of collapse and possibly going into the sea so they want to get that hazard removed as soon as possible."

    He said, however, those properties might end up washed away tonight.

    Mr Hurd said other properties might also be affected.

    "We don't know what's going to happen tonight," he said.

    "We don't know if they're going to be at risk and possibly needing to be demolished as well."

  13. A recent history of coastal erosion

    Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    A home falls into the sea in 2016PA

    One the bungalows in Hemsby which fell into the sea during a tidal surge in 2013

    This stretch of the Norfolk coast has been fighting a long battle with coastal erosion.

    Seven bungalows along The Marrams had to be demolished when sandy cliffs washed away in March 2018.

    In December 2013, "the worst storm surge in 60 years", destroyed seven homes.

  14. What is the council saying?

    Sheila OxtobyQays Najm/BBC

    Great Yarmouth Borough Council says it is supporting homeowners and assessing damage after high tides caused further erosion of dunes at Hemsby.

    It said it was particularly concerned about three properties, one to the south and two to the north of the lifeboat station, due to their "proximity to the cliff edge".

    The council said it had been a "changing situation" throughout the day following the high spring tides over the last 24 hours, and it was "too early" to say if any of the homes would have to be demolished.

    Chief executive Sheila Oxtoby said: "It's very, very difficult and we are trying to be incredibly sensitive

    "We are dealing with people at a very emotional time but everyone's been cooperative and we're trying to provide as much welfare support as well as dealing with the practicality of the situation."

  15. 'Without the beach there is no Hemsby'

    Kate Scotter and Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    Alan Jones, second coxswain of the Hemsby Independent LifeboatJon Ironmonger/BBC

    Alan Jones, second coxswain of the Hemsby Independent Lifeboat

    Alan Jones, second coxswain of the Hemsby Independent Lifeboat, said it was immensely upsetting watching the coastline disappearing like it is tonight.

    "It is devastating," he says. "We've worked hard year after year putting the blocks in trying to protect what we can protect.

    "We've tried our best and we've been asking for help. Where is the help coming from? Without the beach, there is no Hemsby."

  16. High tide is officially here at Hemsby

    Laurence Cawley
    BBC News

    High tide has officially arrived at Hemsby.

    Alan Jones, second coxswain of the Hemsby Independent Lifeboat, said: "It will sit in now for quite a long while. We are just monitoring the dunes here and a good one or two metres (3ft to 6ft) has just slid off."

  17. 'It's going to be a very busy night'

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    The chickens were rescued "just in time" after the shed they were in toppled into the sea, moments after they were saved.

    Kevin Fenn, one of the lifeboat crew members who found the chickens, said: "We were walking along, checking the bungalows, as we were instructed to do, and we got to the end one and spotted the shed was hanging over the cliff.

    "We went to observe what was in the cage and Stewie said 'I think there's some chickens in there' and we went and had a quick look and there were."

    He said another 10 minutes and the birds would have been in the water as the shed fell over while they were there.

    "We rescued them just in time," he said. "It's going to be a very busy night."

    The shed the chickens were in after it had fallen into the sea in Hemsby

  18. Watch: Lifeboat station crews help in chicken rescue

    Chickens rescued from cliff-top homes

  19. Watch: The moment a shed falls into the sea as high tide hits

    The moment a shed falls into the sea at Hemsby

  20. Lifeboat crew rescue chickens from at-risk home

    Jon Ironmonger
    BBC Look East

    A lifeboat crew made a last-minute dash to save two chickens from one of the cliff-top homes.

    The crew from Hemsby Independent Lifeboat Station received a call that the two birds not been collected from one of the at-risk properties so they made a mad dash to rescue them.

    Lifeboat crews with the rescued chickensJon Ironmonger/BBC