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FORCED OUT BY THE STORM SEVERE weather conditions forced two pensioners to evacuate their home as storms battered the Pevensey Bay shore at the weekend FORCED OUT BY THE STORM SEVERE weather conditions forced two pensioners to evacuate their home as storms battered the Pevensey Bay shore at the weekend. David and Barbara Ellis watched in horror as high seas and 80mph winds caused major structural damage to their beachside bungalow at 9.30am on Sunday. Mr and Mrs Ellis were sitting in their house when a corner of their home fell away and a huge crack appeared in the front wall. They then felt the floor come away from beneath them and could see the waves through the bottom of the wall. As a structural surveyor inspected the damage to the property in Old Martello Road, 64-year-old Mrs Ellis told the Gazette, "It was a very scary moment. The sea sometimes comes close to the house but it has never been like this before. It was a combination of the weather and sea that did the damage. I love the sea and that is why we live here. I respect the sea and we will be staying here, we have no plans to move on. "We have lived here for seven years and the bungalow has been here for 100 years. We will wait to hear from the insurance company but we hope to move back in as soon as we can." Firefighters from Eastbourne helped make the building safe before building inspectors arrived. Eastbourne station officer Glen Stephens said, "The house is perched on the shingle and the sea has washed away shingle under the house, so part of it has dropped a fair way. "The residents were shocked because they were just sitting there when they felt the floor come away from beneath them." Coastguards said storms reached the 'violent' category during Saturday night, just one level below a hurricane. The coastline from Beachy Head to Hastings was one of five stretches of coastline the Environment Agency placed on flood watch along the Sussex coast. A spokesperson for Sussex Police said, "We received more than 150 calls between 3.30am (Saturday) and noon yesterday (Sunday) from members of the public. "We've been very busy dealing with incidents caused by the weather. There have been dozens of trees down, damage to property, some flooding and a few minor road accidents." Waves breached the sea wall at Seaford and caused flooding along a wide stretch of the promenade. 05 December 2006 |
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