Another Village Falling Into The Erosive Ocean - Except This One's In England - Independent [View All]

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The sign as you enter Skipsea is an immediate indication that something is wrong. "Danger," it reads. "Enter at your own risk." Just ahead, there is a huge hole in the middle of the road, blocking your path. The village of Skipsea sits, precariously, on Yorkshire's East Riding coastline – the fastest eroding coastline in Europe.

As 2008 begins, many of the villagers have a common new year's resolution: to leave their doomed village before their homes are washed into the sea. Official figures estimate that this coastline loses an average of 18 inches a year. The council estimates that 13 homes in the village will disappear in the next five years, with a further 78 likely to be lost by 2058.

But, worryingly, the residents of Skipsea, which has a population of just 600, say these estimates are far too optimistic. With 2007 being the worst year in recent memory, 2008 is generally regarded as make or break for those closest to the ever-receding cliff-face.

For Josephine and Colin Arnold this will almost certainly be the year they are forced to leave their home of 19 years. The couple moved to their 11-room farmhouse in May 1988 to set up a business in the village, which is a popular tourist destination. They bought the house with an acre of land and opened a restaurant, a campsite, a caravan park and a holiday cottage. But in just 19 years the land behind their home, which once stretched back 100 feet, has shrunk to six feet.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3315032.ece