Demolition of Hemsby cliff-top homes starts on Friday

Eight of the 13 affected bungalows on The Marrams were people's permanent homes

Five homes "teetering" on the edge of sand dunes are to be demolished on Friday morning, a council confirmed.

Thirteen chalet bungalows in total were deemed uninhabitable at Hemsby in Norfolk after high winds and waves eroded cliffs at the weekend.

Demolition teams will move in at 08:30 GMT to remove the first of the damaged structures now unfit to live in.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council said the area would be cordoned off during the removal of the seaside homes.

Meanwhile local MP Brandon Lewis said the landowner of The Marrams, where the chalets are sited, needed to become more involved in helping develop a coastal defence plan with the local authority.

Damage to the stricken houses at Hemsby including residents' furniture strewn across the eroded dunes

"The reality is that we do not yet have a scheme that is formally approved, so that we can seek funding (for sea defences).

"Whether it's from government through the Environment Agency or through the private landowner, who obviously many people feel should be stepping up to the mark as well," he added.

This is the second time in five years properties on The Marrams have been damaged by coastal erosion.

• 'I thought I'd have a good 10, 15 years here'

• Cliff-top homes remain 'precarious'

• Homes 'teetering' on cliff edge

• Cliff-top homes 'could fall into sea'

Site owners Geoffrey Watling Limited said earlier this week there were fewer than 40 homes left on The Marrams, as opposed to 240 homes 50 years ago.

John Weston, managing agent for landowners Geoffrey Watling Ltd, said any work to secure the other homes on the cliffs would depend on government funding.

"There are currently trials of blocks and gabions in place, which are being assessed for their effectiveness, but at present there's no public funding allocated for what would be a multi-million pound investment," he said.

Plugging the gap

In preparation for the demolition work to take place, an access path to the beach for clean-up teams was dug out on Thursday.

Sand from nearby Great Yarmouth was being ferried by lorries to plug the gap temporarily at Hemsby.

An access to the beach was dug out for the lifeboat to be able to launch

"We're taking surplus sand from the beach area where the sand dunes have accumulated, we can spare that and will redistribute it to fill the gap," said Bernard Harris, coastal manager, Great Yarmouth council.

But former soldier, Lance Martin said he did not want his home to be demolished and believed it could be lifted and moved back a few metres from the cliff edge.

"It is worth it because it's my home and I want to keep my home," Mr Martin said.

Lance Martin wants his home to be lifted and moved inland instead of demolished