Southsea promenade flood defence wall collapses into sea

A section of promenade in Portsmouth has been cordoned off after part of a flood defence wall fell into the sea.

A large crack appeared in the pavement above the wall behind the Pyramids Centre in Southsea, sometime between 25 and 26 December.

The council is looking at propping up what is left of the wall and filling the hole with 2,000 tonnes of rock.

Council leader Donna Jones admitted bad weather could hamper efforts.

Barriers have been put around the area to try and stop people from getting too close

Engineers inspected the site earlier to asses the damage

The council is trying to source 2,000 tonnes of rock to fill the hole

She said: "There is a big storm predicted on Wednesday which we are quite concerned about. The big risk now is whether or not the hole is going to get bigger.

"These sea defences were built in the 1970s and built on old existing concrete plinths which were built in the 1930s and unfortunately due to wear and tear the sea defences have now given way."

Ms Jones said the authority had already been working on a multi million-pound replacement scheme of old sea defences, including this section.