Bryony Nierop-Reading says she has seen coastal erosion destroy homes and land in Happisburgh, Norfolk, and nearby areas in the past 30 years – but has vowed not to leave the village
A woman nicknamed Granny Canute has had to abandon a second house due to erosion eating away nearby cliffs.
Bryony Nierop-Reading, 79, whose £25,000 bungalow plunged into the sea in 2013, now faces losing a second home. The pensioner has previously refused compensation to leave her beloved home.
Mrs Nierop-Reading’s battle against the tide earned her the nickname – after the 11th century king who claimed he had the power to hold back the sea. She is now preparing for the demolition of her second threatened home, in Happisburgh, Norfolk.
The grandmother has had a static caravan craned in to her garden, and hopes to live in it for the foreseeable future. Mrs Nierop-Reading said: “I won’t leave the edge because I want to save the village, the lighthouse and the pub. If you live further from the cliff edge you stop caring. It keeps my mind focused when you can see it disappearing.”
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It comes after the Mirror highlighted a similar battle this week – in Ulrome and Skipsea in East Yorkshire, where residents have watched up to eight football pitches of land vanish over the years.
Recent storms took residents there 30ft closer to the sea in just two weeks. Wilfrid Houghton, 78, who operates Seaside Caravan Park at Ulrome, told The Mirror: “2023, has been a terrible year, a very poor year for coastal erosion.” He said they have been suffering “with very high tides and very strong winds. That’s the sort of thing we’ve been having to put up with.”
Looking across the sea, he pointed out: “It’s an uninterrupted view there across to Flamborough Head when the day’s clear. That’s our main attraction is the sea but in adverse times it is our biggest enemy as far as coastal erosion is concerned.”
Experts fear the loss of whole villages in the future, on the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe. Things are so bad the public are being warned to stay away from cliff edges on the East Yorkshire coastline after several “significant” cliff collapses recently – even in the seaside resort of Bridlington. The East Yorkshire coastline recedes by an average of six metres a year, with some areas losing 12 to 15 metres.
