Geograph - photograph every grid square

After the storm surge on 5 December 2013, said to have been the worst in 60 years, new cliff falls are evident all along this stretch of beach. Whereas soil and sand get swept away by the sea, the clay outcrops would seem to be much more resilient.

After the devastating floods in 1953, where 300 people lost their lives, the first sea defences were built and later extended, using greenheart and jarrah wood, combined with steel, for the groynes and revetments. The rate of erosion decreased but despite numerous repairs, large portions of the revetments have been destroyed during the last 40 years and a large bay has formed, due to cliff erosion, to the south of the village, which is on record as the first place in England where an average of two metres of cliff is lost per year. Lacking the funds for costly repairs, local authorities have decided to let nature run her course.