Residents' relief as wall shored up

HOMES WERE 'ON BRINK OF COLLAPSE' AFTER EROSION

- By WESLEY HOLMES

WORK is under way to repair a crumbling sea wall after residents feared their houses would "fall into the Mersey".

The sea wall at the end of The Esplanade in New Ferry, Wirral, was in urgent need of renovation as years of rising and falling tides caused bricks to fall out and a metal fence to collapse onto the riverbed.

People living on the Victorian street said their houses would "fall into the sea" if something was not done after a large chunk of the wall suddenly collapsed last month, exposing a large hole.

But despite the investigation efforts of residents and New Ferry councillor Tony Murphy, those responsible for maintaining the wall remain unknown.

A Wirral Council spokesman said the authority was not responsible, and the ECHO understands investigations with the Land Registry have been unable to confirm who owns or is responsible for the land between the houses and the foreshore.