Mum fears home to be ‘gone by Christmas’ as 26ft of land swept away in a month
A mother is left terrified everyday that her home will be swept away in the sea from it’s cliff-top position.
Around eight metres of land around her home disappeared in just one month after harsh sea conditions battered it. The three-bed semi detached house is located in Happisburgh, Norfolk, near the edge of a cliff.
Nicola Bayless’ home is now less than 15 metres from the edge of the cliff after storms Badet and Ciaran tore through her surrounding area in Autumn. The mum now spends her life worrying that her £375,000 property may be gone by the end of the year as her village is being eradicated before her eyes.
READ MORE: One dead in Edinburgh gas explosion with house ripped apart as it felt like 'earthquake'
For the latest news and updates on property stories from across the globe, click here.
Nicola, 48, said: “We haven’t even got into winter, but as we’ve lost that much, we could be forced to leave in springtime or even before Christmas. It’s frightening. It’s heartbreaking and it’s frightening if you let it take over your mind, it can get you down mentally.”
Her late parents originally brought the house in 2001 when it was over 200 metres away from the cliff edge. While they knew the property would not be around forever due to the government deciding not to update sea and storm defences, they did not think the erosion would happen so soon.
Nicola, who moved into the property seven years ago, now fears her 'worthless' home could become uninhabitable in just a few months. Several other locals have been forced to abandon their luxury homes due to severe weather conditions.
“I’m not choosing to go and find somewhere new. it’s something I’m being forced to do. I would stay here forever, but I’m not going to put myself at risk. After Babet, four metres was gone. Then it was another two meres after Ciarán. But more has gone since then. So you’re talking, in a month, seven to eight metres.
“We used to have Christmas light competitions with our neighbours – how many lights you could get on your home. It looked like Las Vegas at the bottom of the road. It makes you sad that village life is disappearing as well.”
Join the Daily Star's WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more
The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!
Through the app, we'll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens…along with the latest breaking news of course.
To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in!
No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN
Nicola's worries continue as although local authorities will help her move away, she does not know how much financially they can help.
She continued: “A property my size with a garden and an annexe – it would probably be £375,000 or more if it was anywhere else. So, I’m not going to get that. [The cliff] is less than 15 metres away from the house now. The local authorities are talking to us and preparing us and are going to help out.
"But I don’t know how much financially they’re going to help out. They’re keeping their cards close to their chests, which is fair enough because you can’t promise something that you can’t deliver. But they’re very, very closed on that.”
For the latest news and updates on property stories from across the globe, click here.
Source: Read Full Article