Hopton clifftop path destroyed by coastal erosion

This is all that is left of a once popular clifftop footpath, which has been destroyed by coastal erosion.

Just 7ft of width of the path - by Hopton old radar station - remains, after residents claim 10ft fell away in little over a year.

Michael Greene, 60, of Hopton on Sea regularly takes his Jack Russell dog Trixie to walk along the path, and says a lot of people will miss it when it is gone.

He said: 'I'm worried that when the walkway goes it's going to spoil everything with the dog.

'I wouldn't be able to go round there.

'In about a year around 10ft has gone at the radar station.'

And he fears it is being eroded at a rapid pace.

'I think after this winter it will be gone,' he said. 'I'm thinking of cutting back the bushes so there's more space and I can use it for longer - I don't want to fall.

'It was a popular path.'

Campaigners have long been pressing for more sea defences at Hopton, which puts �60m per year into the tourist economy.

Brian Hardisty, chairman of Hopton Coastal Action Group, gives updates on the situation to the parish council every meeting.

In the latest version of the Shoreline Management Plan residents won permission to up-tools and build DIY sea defences.

The document was prepared by authorities that have a responsibility for managing flooding and erosion at the coast, including the Environment Agency, Defra and local councils.

But government funding is still a distant dream - and getting permission for DIY defences took years to achieve.