'Road to nowhere' after erosion streak at Winterton

High tides and strong winds saw surging seas cause further erosion at Winterton, less than a year after the clifftop Dunes cafe was demolished before it collapsed on to the sands.

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Such was the scale of the latest loss - creating 25ft sheer drops in places - James Bensly whose county council ward includes the village called the police and council to make the area safe and provide warning signs.

He said the amount of material that had been lost was "unreal" and raised concerns about landslips from the unstable dunes.

Tank traps that just a few years ago stood at the foot of the dunes are now a good 50ft away, the Coastwatch lookout edging ever closer.

There is now no turning circle at the end of the road, double yellow lines running to the edge of the cliff and falling away to nothing.

Debris on the beach attests to the amount of material lost, while further along exposed pipes jut out from the cliff face.

Mr Bensly said he was shocked by the erosion streak and was concerned about further falls from the unstable cliffs.

He hailed the swift actions of police and highways in making the area safe and providing signage.

"We had days and days of southerly winds which were pushing all the water north," he said.

"Then it turned and came from the north west and the water didn't really go down at low tide. It took quite a bit of cliff away and there's a real sharp drop.

"We had to make a barrier because people could have quite easily driven off the edge and it is not safe to turn round anymore.

"It is the road to nowhere now."

He stressed the car park and Airstream Edge were still open. Up to 15 spaces for vehicles had been lost and people were being allowed to turn round in the car park.

In the short term the plan was to install chestnut paling fences to create safe passageways to the beach, he said.

Overall the aim was to discourage any unnecessary journeys along Beach Road which now ends in a sheer drop.