Some 31 miles (50km) of coastline is made up of undefended boulder clay cliffs, with average erosion rates in the worst affected stretch between Withernsea and Hollym of nearly 13 feet (four metres) a year.

East Riding Council’s Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee heard numbers of properties at risk had come down as a result of installing a 400m extension to coastal defences to the south of Withernsea, which protected 70 homes, holiday chalets as well as the A1033.

Since October 2020 two homes on the edge at Skipsea have been demolished, with one occupier moving into council accommodation, while the other relocated into a “rollback” property on private land.

Almost 20 homes are at risk from coastal erosion

The committee also heard of plans to create habitat for intertidal species by putting in features like rock pools into the granite rock armour at Withernsea – a move which could be rolled out on defences elsewhere, if it proves successful.

Eighteen Yorkshire homes under threat from coastal erosion in next four years