Winterton-on-Sea: Cordons put up at Norfolk beach after storm erodes cliffs

The cliffs at Winterton-on-Sea have been gradually eroded over the years

A cordon has been put up around a beach after erosion caused part of a nearby road and car park to collapse.

Strong winds and high tides over the weekend left sheer drops at Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk.

Local councillor James Bensley said: "It's a shocking scene. The tides were giving us no respite and it was relentless. We lost numerous tonnes."

He said options would have to be assessed before decisions were made on how to protect the area from erosion.

"We need to think about whether or not there are alternatives to just concrete and a sea wall because that is not necessarily the correct scheme for here.

"We could make things worse. We need to adapt to our ever-changing coastline."

Strong winds and high tides caused part of an access road and car park to fall on to the sand below

The owner of a nearby chalet said he had seen the area steadily change over the past 30 years:

"We've seen a lot of this being eroded away. I remember there were lots of huts along here 20 years ago. They're all gone," he said.

The geology of East Anglia's coastline means it is prone to erosion, which has been happening for thousands of years.

A local councillor said a sea wall was not necessarily the best way to protect this part of the coast

Winterton-on-Sea is about 13 miles (21km) south along the coast from Bacton, where millions of tonnes of sand were shifted in 2019 to hold back the encroaching sea.

It was the first time this approach had been tried in the UK and the stretch of coast is currently being surveyed to assess its impact.

A Defra spokesperson said: "Flooding and coastal erosion can have terrible consequences for people, businesses and the environment.

"That's why we are investing a record £5.2bn between 2021-2027, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England."