A staggering 55,000 tonnes of rock are being shipped in to stop the sea claiming Torcross forever
A seaside village in Devon risks being washed away, while its locals are considering demolishing their own homes.
Torcross is facing what has been described as an "existential" threat from increasingly violent storms, and has secured £19.8million in funding from the Environment Agency to try and protect itself.
Last winter proved devastating, with multiple homes suffering damage and a substantial portion of the main road, including sections of the A379 coastal route, being swept away.
Now, some homeowners are weighing up tearing down their storm-damaged houses.
The EA's improvement scheme aims to provide the community with temporary relief.
The project involves moving 55,000 tonnes of rock to create a temporary barrier in front of existing coastal defences, which will form a protective line against future storm damage.
Repairs to the car park, which was breached during recent storms, should be finished by June 2027.
Rock revetment work - where sea walls are clad with impact-resistant material to absorb the energy of incoming water - will also be carried out under the scheme.
The improvements are designed to strengthen the village's defences against the increasingly powerful storms that have battered the coastline in recent years.
News of the funding has led to celebration among villagers, though some are still anxious about whether the defences can be completed before the next storm season arrives.
Hannah Miller, the general manager at the Start Bay Inn, said it was "a race against time" to get the work done.
"If the storms are anything like they were this year and we don't have that in place, then it's going to be a pretty bleak future," she added.
The EA's scheme does not include repairs to the A379, known as the Slapton Line.
This omission has frustrated the village's 300 residents, who need the road to access their own home.
Since its closure, travel and transport have become significantly more difficult for locals.
George Arnison, a coastal engineer for the EA, said while the scheme was "value for money", it was not a permanent solution and there were "no easy answers".
"It will buy the community some time, buy the Government some time, buy the Environment Agency some time, to think through what is the long term future here?"
Similar questions faced multiple seaside towns on the Lincolnshire coast earlier this year, with their council considering a permanent evacuationn to escape the threat of flooding.
Lincolnshire County Council was weighing up a "migration" from Skegness and its coastal neighbours due to potentially devastating floods - though council leaders pushed back against the idea of abandoning the coast.
