By Alexis Akwagyiram BBC News

Fairlight Cove residents fear for their homes

Former RAF sergeant Nick Carter is resigned to spending the rest of his life in a caravan.

Five years ago the 84-year-old watched helplessly as his four-bedroom bungalow fell into the sea.

As he watched the slow, inexorable slide over a two-year period, Mr Carter turned to his insurance company - only to be told there would be no compensation.

It was, they said, an "act of God" - something he was not insured against.

The pensioner promptly moved into a caravan, where he has lived with his two dogs ever since.

"Words cannot describe how it felt to watch my home disappear - I was devastated," said the former serviceman, whose parents bought the property in 1947.

Mr Carter is one of the residents of Fairlight Cove - a quiet retirement village near Hastings, in East Sussex, with about 750 houses.

We need to look ahead as sea levels are set to rise due to climate change Defra Sea threat to communities

Several members of the coastal community fear their homes may go the same way as Mr Carter's, while others despair as the value of their property plummets.

Five houses have been swept away since 1999 and another 13 are in danger of disappearing by June 2005 according to geotechnical engineers.

It is estimated another 200 houses could disappear during the next century.

Huge swathes of Mr Carter's 100ft lawn were lost to the sea in 1997 and cracks started to appear in the house the following year.

The bungalow finally crumbled into the sea in 1999.

I can't even relax in bed as I'm certain that it will go in the middle of the night Kathy Sinclair

Mr Carter said: "It was a slow, progressive death and the insurance company were bloody-minded about the situation.

"They said it was an act of God, so they didn't give me a penny."

With only an aerial photo of his house to remind him of his home, Mr Carter now resides in what remains of his garden.

Dr John Sinclair is the secretary of the Fairlight Cove Preservation Trust, which was set up to raise awareness about coastal erosion in a bid to save houses in the area.

In 1989 about 500m of coastline protection, a barrier made of concrete blocks, was built to protect part of the Fairlight coastline after a large part was destroyed.

Government intervention

Dr Sinclair believes the government should intervene to help in communities affected by coastal erosion.

He said: "We need more government backed compensation for people who have bought in good faith and could lose their properties due to natural disasters.

"The cost of coastal defences is enormous as they need constant maintenance - compensating people would be cheaper in the long-run."

Dr Sinclair, 72, who moved to the area in 1993, lives around 40m from the sea.

"When I was buying my house I sought advice from the council's planning office who estimated that it would be around 400 years before my home was eaten up by coastal erosion," he said.

The Sinclairs are campaigning for government compensation

But last year a team of geological engineers from Halcrow, a company which specialise in coastal protection, told Dr Sinclair and his wife that 90m of coastline had been lost since 1997, and their home could be gone by next June.

"I was absolutely gutted by what they told me - At the moment we have insurance against landslides, but not coastal erosion," said the retired doctor.

"I wouldn't have bought this property if I had known about this. We came here to have a happy secure and stable retirement home."

The combined effects of coastal erosion and land slip, which has caused widespread concern in the community and seen the Sinclairs' neighbours sell their homes at a fraction of the asking price, has caused a great deal of stress.

Dr Sinclair's 71-year-old wife, Kathy, suffered a heart attack in May.

She said: "This situation has caused a lot of stress - It is always on my mind.

"I can't even relax in bed as I'm certain that it will go in the middle of the night."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has funded a risk assessment study, requested by Rother District Council, by engineers to find out what - if anything - can be done.

Until then the future remains uncertain for the inhabitants of the quiet village by the sea.