Hemsby: Under threat village loses more beach to the sea

Coxswain Daniel Hurd said he had "never known" weather like what has been seen this August

A village threatened by coastal erosion has lost another 3m to 4m (10-13ft) of beach, a local lifeboat crew has said.

It comes after a metre of cliff fell into the sea at Hemsby, Norfolk, earlier this week.

The holiday village is on a vulnerable stretch of coastline, where five homes had to be demolished earlier this year.

Hemsby Lifeboat coxswain Daniel Hurd said it was "disaster again" for the resort, especially at the "busiest time of the year".

He called for Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) and the Environment Agency (EA) to take action.

The EA said it understood how "distressing" the situation was for residents and that it continued to provide guidance to local authorities that lead on planning and managing coastal erosion.

GYBC was approached by the BBC for comment.

Mr Hurd called for the local authorities to take action to protect Hemsby

Mr Hurd said 3m to 4m of the dunes had been lost in two days and the beach had been cordoned off while remedial works took place.

"I've never known weather like it in August and these tides and the height of the tides coming in and hitting this coastline," he said.

"This time of year we should be seeing thousands of people on the beach, enjoying it, but we're not today."

Parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland were battered by Storm Antoni, which brought heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms between Friday and Saturday.

The beach has been cordoned off while remedial works take place - it is hoped to reopen on Monday

Mr Hurd said his lifeboat team - which is independent of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - was aiming to get the beach back open on Monday.

Meanwhile, he said the EA and the council needed to "get together and get this money and get this sorted now".

Paul Lines, who grew up in the village, said he thought Hemsby's beach was getting to the point "far past help"

Paul Lines, who lives in Hembsy, said: "The dunes are actually falling down and being washed away before your eyes; it's absolutely devastation."

The 64-year-old, who grew up in the village, said: "This was my playground as a child, I lived my whole life on the beach each summertime.

"We've seen this for the last 30 years slowly erode and take away our very beach to the point that there's nothing left and I think it's far past help, I think the point of no return has been reached."

He added: "We're in a situation now where there's no defence, the first winter gales will devastate this."

• BBC iPlayer: Hemsby Life on the Edge

• 'I knew erosion would happen but not this quickly'

• How many other Hemsbys are waiting to happen?

About 2,000 tonnes of granite was placed along a 262ft (80m) section of cliff at The Marrams at the end of March.

Plans for a permanent defence stretching 0.8 miles (1.3km) have been granted a licence by the Marine Management Organisation.

However, the borough council would need to find £15m to complete the work.