Storm Darcy: Sea closes in on Hemsby beachfront home

Lance Martin said metres of sandy cliff below his beachtop garden in Hemsby was washed away by the sea during Storm Darcy

A man who has spent three years fighting to stop his home falling into the sea said storms demolished metres of cliffs at the end of his garden.

Lance Martin lives in Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in the only home in a row of clifftop houses to survive 2018's Beast from the East.

Last year, he hired a digger to shore up sea defences, but said he was now in a battle against time.

"We'd lost about 15-20ft (4.6-6.1m) by the time I went to bed," he said.

Mr Martin said the sea whipped up by Storm Darcy had lashed the base of the dunes in front of his home

The former soldier said Storm Darcy's high winds forced the sea over the concrete blocks he had placed along the beach, and on to the base of the dunes on Sunday and Monday.

A section of the sandy cliff below Mr Martin's garden was then washed away, turning the once gently sloping edge into a steep drop.

Mr Martin said despite plans for a rock berm sea defence at Hemsby to protect it from coastal erosion, he feared for the village's future until then.

"It's all going ahead - it's just time, and we've got very little of that left I'm afraid. That's Mother Nature," he said.

"[I feel] let's try and get it in before this happens again and there's no Hemsby for the future."

Mr Martin moved sea defences to protect the dunes outside his home in Hemsby after a row of neighbouring chalets was demolished

After his neighbours lost their chalets three years ago, Mr Martin managed to drag his timber bungalow back 10 metres (32ft) from the cliff edge to save it.

He had retired at the age of 60 to the property - which cost him £95,000 - five months before surrounding homes on The Marrams toppled into the sea.

Mr Martin said although he had since spent thousands of pounds on his house, he had no regrets.

"I love my home and the area. It's a fantastic community - very tight-knit," he said.

"Everybody's shouting out for me - they're all behind me and it's a fantastic feeling."

Mr Martin had hired a digger to excavate boulders from Hemsby beach to help shore up the remaining land around his house