Ex-soldier who twice defied coastal erosion to drag his house back from crumbling Norfolk cliff edge staring at defeat after fresh landslip

•  Lance Martin, 65, dragged one-bedroom home back another 40 metres in land 
•  Village of Hemsby suffered from severe coastal erosion in recent years 
•  Bought the property and told it would be safe for around 40 years

A defiant ex-soldier who twice dragged his home away from a cliff edge to stop it falling into the sea faced defeat today when another landslip threatened his chalet bungalow. 

Lance Martin, 65, hit the headlines in March when he used a tractor to pull his home away from the cliff in Hemsby, Norfolk.

The ex grenadier guardsman had to drag his one-bedroom home back another 40 metres in land while several of his neighbour’s homes were demolished. 

Now his home is at risk of toppling over the cliff edge and landing in the sea again, because of further erosion, with a dramatic photo taken on Sunday showing Lance’s home and another property just metres away from the edge. 

The village, which is home to around 3,000 people, has suffered from severe coastal erosion in recent years with many properties abandoned as the cliffs continue to slip away.

Lance Martin, 65, hit the headlines in March when he used a tractor to pull his home away from the cliff in Hemsby, Norfolk

The former soilder had to drag his one-bedroom home back another 40 metres while several of his neighbour’s homes were demolished 

Now his home is at risk of toppling over the cliff edge and landing in the sea again, again because of further erosion,

Speaking in earlier this year, Mr Martin said he was ‘just accepting’ what had happened to his home and was trying to ‘keep a smile on his face’. 

He said: ‘The overwhelming feeling amongst the neighbours is one of despair.. I keep a smile on my face.

‘I haven’t broken down yet. I crack on with it- there’s nobody to blame, you just have to accept it and move on.’

Mr Martin first moved his home on The Marrams back from the edge in 2018 having bought the property and told it would be safe for around 40 years.

One shocking photo taken this year shows Lance’s property, which is worth around £95,000, just metres away from falling onto the beach below.

He then towed his home back using a tractor but a photograph taken in August shows the coastline getting closer to the ex-grenadier guard’s bungalow.

In March, terrified residents were forced to pack up their belongings and possibly leave their cliff-edge homes for good amid fears their houses could plunge into the sea during an overnight storm surge. 

At least five people were told to leave their at-risk homes in Hemsby, Norfolk, as surging 50mph winds and a high tide of 3.7m threatened to undermine their properties perching on a small sand cliff.

In October, locals said they had been abandoned by the Government after it scrapped a defence scheme – despite a landslip leaving a home perched on the edge of a cliff. 

Despite the shocking images, the Government said a planned sea defence project did not qualify for funding to be put into action. 

Mr Martin first moved his home on The Marrams back from the edge in 2018 having bought the property and told it would be safe for around 40 years

Speaking in earlier this year, Mr Martin said he was ‘just accepting’ what had happened to his home and was trying to ‘keep a smile on his face

Concrete blocks have been put in place at some of the more vulnerable parts of the coast – but residents still want to see a full sea-defence wall put in place

A campaign group is crowdfunding to mount a legal challenge against the decision not to fund the coastal defence scheme

Mr Martin created his own coastal defence wall (pictured) in a bid to protect his house from the onslaught of the sea

Erosion elsewhere on the coast shows how the land is being eaten away by the sea – but the Government says it cannot justify funding a flood-defence scheme

Local authorities claimed inflation has pushed the cost of the project from a reported £15million to £20million, ultimately leading to the offer of financial support being withdrawn. They then warned the the collapse of homes was inevitable. 

They sought to placate the residents of the village by installing rocks as a short-term coastal defence measure in the areas most affected by erosion. But locals said it isn’t enough.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council issued a statement on behalf of its coastal management team, Norfolk County Council and local Tory MP Brandon Lewis to confirm the sea wall project would not be going ahead as planned.

It said: ‘The primary source of funding for the proposed work would be via a Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid from the Government.

READ MORE: Shock images show house perilously close to toppling over cliff as residents of Norfolk village

‘Currently schemes of this cost and scale would only attract Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid where hundreds of homes are at risk.

‘However, currently, the proposed scheme for Hemsby doesn’t qualify for sufficient Government funding to allow it to progress.’

The council said it was ‘looking at what funding and powers are available to try to avoid further emergency scenarios of people moving out of their homes literally overnight’, adding: ‘We are preparing for what now appears to be the inevitable situation of losing more properties, either by the loss of the access road or directly from erosion.

We are actively engaging with the residents of those properties which are likely to be affected to understand what support they will need to respond now to the risk of further erosion.’

The Environment Agency told Norfolk Live that the borough council needed to justify the project by showing ‘how the project will work, that it will last, that it is able to be delivered and is environmentally acceptable’.

A report by climate group One Home estimated that coastal homes in England worth a total of £584million could be lost to cliff collapses by 2100. 

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