I’ve only got 10 years left before my cliff-edge home falls into the sea… but I don’t mind! I’m not going to live forever
- Angie Wilson, 66, moved into her two-bedroom bungalow in Scratby in 2010
- Before being handed the keys she was warned about the threat of erosion
- But the mother-of-one fell in love with the view and was willing to take the risk
A mother who lives on a cliff edge says she’s not worried about erosion despite being advised she’d only have 25 years in the property when she moved in.
Angie Wilson, 66, moved into her two-bedroom 1930’s bungalow in Scratby, Norfolk in 2010.
Before being handed the keys she was warned by a local resident and her solicitor about the imminent threat of erosion.
But she fell in love with the beautiful sea view and homely cul-de-sac and says she was willing to take the risk as she ‘can’t live forever.’
Now, 13 years on, Angie is still living happily at the property with her dog, and claims she’s barely noticed the effects of the erosion she was warned about.
Angie Wilson (pictured with partner Richard) who lives on a cliff edge says she’s not worried about erosion despite being advised she’d only have 25 years in the property
Angie moved into her two-bedroom 1930’s bungalow (pictured furthest to the right) in Scratby, Norfolk in 2010
Before being handed the keys she was warned by a local resident and her solicitor about the imminent threat of erosion
Angie, who works as a receptionist at a local holiday park, said: ‘Since I moved in I’ve probably noticed two or three bucketful’s of clay fall from the cliff edge.
READ MORE: Britain’s crumbling coasts seen from SPACE: Google Earth reveals devastating toll of the tides on seaside communities where locals say erosion is getting FASTER every year
‘But my garden is about 18 feet from the precipice, so I’m confident I’ve got a while left until it becomes a real threat.
‘The way I see it, I have the best sea view around which I get to look at every day. I love it here.’
In Scratby, it is the wind, rain and frost which causes the clay cliff edge to erode.
Angie says it’s at its worse when there has been heavy rain, and the common across from her bungalow gets wet and expands – pushing bits of land off the cliff edge.
But she has praised her property, which she bought for £70,000, for how it’s stood firm throughout the harsh weather.
Angie said: ‘My bungalow is non-standard construction but I have a lot of brick work in the walls.
‘Past owners have also completed extensions and modernised bits of the house so that’s been a big help.
‘The clay deals with the weather a lot better than sand does- that’s why the homes in Hemsby are facing the same problem but on a much larger scale.
The mother-of-one fell in love with the beautiful sea view and homely cul-de-sac (pictured)
The view from Angie and partner Richard England’s garden on the cliff edge in Scratby
Angie is still living happily at the property with her dog, and claims she’s barely noticed the effects of the erosion she was warned about
In Scratby, it is the wind, rain and frost which causes the clay cliff edge to erode
‘I admit that eventually there may come a time where my home will succumb to erosion but I don’t think it will be in my lifetime.
READ MORE: The houses slipping into the sea: Dozens of home-owners will lose their properties on the fastest eroding coastline in northwest Europe – where 10 yards of land has disappeared in less than a year
‘I’m more worried about my dog falling off the 60 foot cliff which happened a few years ago.
‘He fell into some brambles, but thankfully he’s a tough cookie so he was alright!’
There are 19 homes in the cul-de-sac on Scratby Crescent where Angie’s home is located.
Out of the 19 properties, Angie admits her home and four others are likely the most at risk. Owners of neighbouring properties declined to comment.
Elsewhere, other locals and visitors to erosion hotspots on the crumbling East Yorkshire have been horrified by the damage done to their homes – and they believe it is only speeding up.
On the Holderness Coast, dozens of second and holiday homes on the Skipsea Sands caravan park are now within 20ft of the 60ft drop down to the rocks.
They have lost six caravan lengths in 15 years – with punters having to move the huge static homes as they retreat from the dangerous edge.
There are now signs on the cliff edge warning parents of the dangers and to not allow the children to cross the concrete blocks stopping access to them from the road.
Angie says the erosion is at its worse when there has been heavy rain, and the common across from her bungalow gets wet and expands – pushing bits of land off the cliff edge (pictured)
But she has praised her property (pictured furthest right), which she bought for £70,000, for how it’s stood firm throughout the harsh weather
There are 19 homes in the cul-de-sac on Scratby Crescent where Angie’s home is located
A report from earlier in the year says homes worth £600 million will crumble into the sea due to coastal erosion.
More than 20 at-risk villages and hamlets were analysed to estimate how much coastline could be lost assuming that current policies on whether to defend, retreat or abandon sections of coast are followed, according to property website Rightmove.
In all, more than 2,200 homes are predicted to be lost by the year 2100, with coastal communities in Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset, East Yorkshire, Essex, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Northumberland, Norfolk and Sussex most at risk.
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