Defiant former soldier who refuses to abandon his clifftop home plans to use machines to lift the entire property out of harm’s way as sea edges ever closer
- Former soldier Lance Martin, 64, purchased his dream house in Hemsby, Norfolk, for £95,000 in 2017
- He was told by surveyor to only expect around 3ft of dune loss each year, but lost 100ft to Beast from the East
- All neighbours have been evicted from adjacent homes over safety fears, with only one other house standing
- Mr Martin, though, says he will pay for huge crane to lift property further away from cliff-edge for second time
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A defiant former soldier who refuses to abandon his clifftop home plans to use heavy machinery to lift his entire property out of harm’s way as the sea continues to edge closer.
Lance Martin, 64, purchased the scenic house in Hemsby, Norfolk, for £95,000 in 2017 and insisted he could stand on its roof and still not see the sea when he first moved in.
He claims he was told by a surveyor to expect 3ft of dune loss each year due to erosion, but Mr Martin says he lost almost 100ft alone during the Beast from the East in 2018.
Each of his neighbours have been evicted from their adjacent properties amid safety fears, but Mr Martin insists he has no intention of leaving his dream home.
The property currently sits only a few metres from the cliff edge after Mr Martin spent £100,000 on a project that saw a local farmer lift the entire house further inland.
He said the project set him back £100,000, more than the value he paid for the house, and the father-of-one has now said he anticipates having to now drag his home across a road using specialist equipment within the next two years.
Mr Martin says he gets no warning when more of the dune collapses so he set solar light on a piece of pipe which he can see
Mr Martin purchased the property (pictured in February last year), named ‘Dune Fall’, in Hemsby, Norfolk, for £95,000 in 2017
Mr Martin looks out to sea from the rear of his property, which has become increasingly nearer since he purchased it in 2017
Mr Martin refuses to leave the property and says he will pay for machinery to lift it further inland for a second time if needed
The only other surviving property has been empty since 2018, while a further 11 have been demolished
Mr Martin served in the Grenadier Guards from 1978 to 2000 and moved to the coast after he retired from his security job in London
Mr Martin told The Mirror he still has no regrets about his purchase, having relocated from London, and said he would ‘do it all again at the drop of a hat’.
He added: ‘I’ve had four years of a fantastic lifestyle around here, and long may it continue. You just have to have a sense of humour about it.’
The wooden property, named ‘Dune Fall’, weighs between 40 and 60 tonnes.
The only other surviving property has been empty since 2018, while a further 11 have been demolished.
The former soldier had hoped to see out his final years at his dream property in Hemsby, Norfolk
Mr Martin says because he can see what is going on, he is losing sleep due to the stress of his circumstances
Mr Martin served in the Grenadier Guards from 1978 to 2000 and moved to the coast after he retired from his security job and sold his flat in Dagenham, east London.
He has previously said the local lifeboat crew offered to help him rearrange his 75 two-tonne concrete block sea defences, which are intended to break the force of the waves, but have become buried by the sand.
The strong winds brought by storms Malik and Corrie brought further concern for Mr Martin last week, who has installed a portable floodlight to ensure he can keep an eye on his sea defences.
While he has done ‘everything within my power to mitigate any damage’, he has become resigned to the prospect of having to move his home a second time.
The project, named ‘Plan Z’, would see the property dragged using a huge crane at a cost of up to £10,000.
It is hoped it will then be 60 metres away from the edge of the cliff.
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