'Nothing is being done. We feel forgotten'

Around England's coastline there is growing anxiety as homes, railways and roads are collapsing into the sea

- By Sandra Laville

COASTAL EROSION

The remains of the road linking two towns in south Devon lie crumbled on the foreshore in a mess of asphalt, steel and concrete.

The dramatic coastal road, known as the Slapton Line, has an environmentally protected freshwater lake on one side and the sea on the other, and links the towns of Kingsbridge and Dartmouth.

But this year, winter storms demolished a section of the A road between Torcross and Slapton, which is at the frontline of rising sea levels and coastal erosion, fulfilling a destiny that was predicted more than 30 years ago but that has not been prepared for.

On Monday, hundreds of people walked on the road to highlight how its collapse has hit their livelihoods and put lifestyles under threat.

“Nothing is being done,” said Gill Sterry, owner of the Sea View campsite. “It’s been three months. Something could have been done to improve the road - even just a little bit of Tarmac in places. We feel forgotten about.”

The rubble in Devon is evidence of what a committee of MPs say is a total lack of national preparedness for how to tackle the inevitable erosion of land.