Emergency repairs on collapsed promenade to begin

Emergency works to repair a coastal town's promenade will begin on Monday.

A huge void was found under the walkway in Hunstanton, Norfolk, after part of it collapsed due to high tides and strong winds on 5 February.

During the repairs, a 140m (1,450ft) stretch of the promenade between the Waterside Bar and Oasis leisure centre will remain shut.

The Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk said the work would take at least two weeks to complete.

Beach material had been washed away from the base of the sea wall, allowing waves to damage the ground beneath the promenade.

The damage was first spotted by council officials when a sinkhole emerged on part of the walkway.

Surveys then found a large void - measuring 3.5m (11.4ft) deep and 14m (45.9ft) wide in places - below.

Sandra Squire, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: "The recent collapse shows just how powerful winter storms can be and why maintaining our coastal defences is so important."

The independent councillor insisted the repairs, due to take place during daylight hours, would make the area safe again.

They will involve sheet piling being installed at the sea wall's base and filling the sinkhole with concrete.

The promenade dates back to the 1920s and its surface was built in the 1950s.

Repairs had already been planned for the site after a survey in August, when the council said more than 300 concrete slabs could need replacing.

It found sections of the sea wall were at risk of collapse and the promenade surface was nearing the end of its life.

Squire said the repairs beginning on Monday would not replace the long-term project to rebuild the town's coastal defences.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.