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Hemsby's new RNLI lifeguard hut washed away by high tides

Shaun Whitmore/BBC The lifeguard hut at HemsbyShaun Whitmore/BBC
The lifeguard hut at Hemsby, north of Great Yarmouth, ended up on its side

A lifeguard hut has been washed away by high tides two days after it was installed.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said "unrepairable" damage was caused to its observation platform at Hemsby, Norfolk, on Thursday.

The independent Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service's (HIRS) lifeboat was also put out of action, just days after crew members shored up the area.

Coxswain Daniel Hurd said more needed to be done to protect the coastline.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council said it was "exploring all possibilities" for funding to help slow coastal erosion in locations such as Hemsby.

Hemsby Independent Lifeboat The platform on which the lifeguard hut at Hemsby getting washed awayHemsby Independent Lifeboat
The lifeguard hut was installed two days ago but lifeguard patrols are not due to start until July

RNLI said it was a combination of high tide and strong north-easterly winds that caused the hut to topple.

It said it would arrange an alternative structure, with help from local partners, in time for their lifeguard patrols to start in July.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Daniel HurdShaun Whitmore/BBC
Coxswain Daniel Hurd, from the independent Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service, called on the authorities to "step up"
Lifeboat station at Hemsby, Norfolk
The lifeboat station at Hemsby is about 100m (330ft) from the shoreline, just through a gap in the sandy cliffs

Meanwhile, HIRS coxswain Mr Hurd said crew members had put in "no end of hours" from 25 to 28 March to shore up the beach and to create a slipway in the cliff for access for their lifeboat.

That access had been washed away in previous storms.

Mr Hurd said Thursday's tides "ripped out the gap area once again and the RNLI lifeguard hut that was only put in place two days ago".

He said four metres (13ft) had gone from what was put in over the weekend and their lifeboat was "back off service again" until the access ramp to the beach was reinstated.

"Hemsby is disappearing and nothing is being done about it," he said.

"It's time for the government and local authorities to step up."

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Work being done to move the washed up lifeguard hutShaun Whitmore/BBC
Work is being done to move the structure that was washed away by the tide

The borough council said the construction of a rock berm had been identified as an option that would work best in Hemsby and it had applied for planning permission.

However, it said, funding was "challenging" and it was working with government bodies, landowners and others, to "identify how the £3m to £9m required to move forward with this critical work can be found".

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