Clifftop homes to be pulled down as erosion takes toll

But the row of housing that has clung to the cliff edge at Skipsea since the 1930s is finally being demolished.

East Riding Council says the shacks that made up "Millionaire's Row" are now too close to the edge and have to come down.

Most of the homes are unoccupied, but one resident will have to move and several others are building homes slightly further inland.

Four men and a digger have been at work knocking down half a dozen properties.

Artist Saffron Waghorn, who is working on her own self-build project, had to winch her chalet to the other side of the road to prevent it going over, having lost nearly 20ft of land since December in the heavy rain and snow.

She said: "I've had to move into a caravan because my chalet got too close to the edge and I've lost my studio.

"It's been a huge upheaval and for a self-employed person it's been really difficult because I've got nowhere to work and there's still no prospect of a road leading to the new builds."

She was concerned that the work had been done heavy-handedly, with glass left lying around and polythene blowing in the wind.

Heavy machinery has also been used on the cliff edge, further weakening the ground.

She said: "This work is long overdue and we are glad it is finally being cleared, but it could have been done a bit more sensitively."

The council gave permission for 16 properties to be built in an adjacent field six years ago, but only one has been built.

The authority is using funds from the 1.2m Pathfinder project to demolish the properties saying they represent an "urgent health and safety matter".