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Community builds wall to save beach steps

BBC The image shows a dry stone wall with some steps leading off up onto the bank above BBC
The new wall has helped the steps withstand some very high tides

Volunteers have come together to protect steps leading to a beach after coastal erosion threatened to destroy them.

Winter storms and very high tides had eroded access points to the beach at Seahouses in Northumberland.

Members of the local community placed stones at the base of the steps, then built a dry stone wall.

Ian Forster, 65, from Seafield Caravan Park, said: "We had a couple of really high tides recently and it seemed to withstand it really well, so hopefully the steps are safe for now."

A man sitting on a concrete tank trap in the foreground with a long beach stretching out beyond with an area of rocks and shale in the foreground
High tides and winter storms have exposed concrete tanks usually buried in the sand

Mr Forster said the work began in March when a group of friends from the caravan park spotted a woman collecting stones.

"She explained that she was trying to stop the steps from being eroded and we decided to help her just by putting a few rocks at the base," he said.

"Then it got round on social media what we were doing and one weekend a big group of people came down and we all finished the wall off."

The picture shows steps dropping onto a beach coming to an abrupt end
Many paths are no longer accessible due to erosion accelerated by winter storms

High tides and winter storms have caused stretches of coastline to retreat by several metres in places.

It has left a number of paths hanging in the air and revealed World War Two defences not seen for generations.

"We've had so much erosion, it was just a community thing to save the steps so that people could keep getting on to such a beautiful beach," Mr Forster said.

Sally Douglas The picture shows a half constructed wall with a sandy bank beyond and a series of steps up to the bank Sally Douglas
The wall was built in stages over a couple of weekends using stones from the beach

Sally Douglas, whose family run Serenity Boat Tours, said: "I come here three times a day to walk the dogs and hundreds of people use these steps, so it's really great that people came together as they have."

A spokesperson for The National Trust, which manages the area, said: "While we would not encourage this kind of public intervention, we are delighted to see that there is local interest in maintaining beach access.

"Our ranger team will closely monitor the structure and we will take appropriate action if any concerns arise."

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