Aerial images show huge landslip in St Leonards-on-Sea as locals are evacuated from their homes which ‘tore like pieces of paper’

Aerial images show a huge landslip in St Leonards-on-Sea as local residents were evacuated from their homes, which ‘tore like piece of paper’.  

Emergency services had to evacuate a number of family in the coastal town of East Sussex, after a ‘perilous’ landslip threatened to demolish their houses.

The shocking images show the extent of the destruction caused by the landslip, where the ground has collapsed, carving a perilous path for ‘huge lumps’ of debris heading straight towards homes on a rugged decline. 

The aerial shots show a conservatory sat on the edge of the bottom of a cliff, that has been crushed, leaving behind scattered debris of brick, wood and glass. 

A spokesman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue said families had to be evacuated after the damage was assessed, following reports of the landslip on Wednesday night.

The aerial shots show a conservatory sat on the edge of the bottom of a cliff, that has been crushed, leaving behind scattered debris of brick, wood and glass

The shocking images show the extent of the destruction caused by the landslip, which had carved a perilous path for ‘huge lumps’ of debris heading straight towards homes

One local resident, Jaco, told BBC Radio Sussex, that a historic Victorian building that was previously used as a billiards room had been ‘absolutely destroyed’ and ‘engulfed with loose mud and concrete’.

Another resident saw the billiards room being ‘torn open like a piece of paper’, and told the broadcaster that it as a ‘perilous situation’ after ‘huge lumps’ of masonry and rubble were ‘thundering down’ onto the land below ‘like a wrecking ball’.

Other residents have reported that they not feeling safe following the frightening collapse.

A spokesman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue said ‘We were called at 8.39pm to reports of a landslip between Marina at the bottom of a cliff and West Hill Road at the top of a cliff in St Leonards.’

They added: ‘Crews liaised with the local council and building control experts. A number of properties at the top of the cliff were evacuated.’

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