An elderly couple forced to evacuate their clifftop home with only days’ notice have told of their heartbreak after it was left to crumble into the sea by a council that didn’t ‘really seem to care’.
Glenda and Michael Dennington, both in their 80s, were ordered to leave their home in Hembsy, Norfolk, on January 6 by the local council, because it was at risk of collapse due to rapid coastal erosion.
Earlier this week, the retired husband and wife wrote to the Daily Mail about how let down they feel by authorities and insurers who they claim have failed to help residents losing their homes on Britain’s fastest-eroding coastline.
In a heartbreaking letter, they said: ‘We were given one day’s notice to get out, then a further two days to clear the property. Volunteers helped us or we would have lost everything.
‘The local council have given very little assistance to people losing their homes. The insurance company doesn’t want to know.
‘We feel like second-class citizens, yet have always worked and paid our taxes. Now we and our neighbours have been thrown on the scrapheap.’
The retired husband and wife were told they needed to evacuate just one day after Michael, 82, was discharged from hospital following a hip replacement, and as Storm Goretti struck.
Mrs Dennington was left in tears as they packed up their belongings and left the property, which she described as their ‘final resting home’. The bungalow now stands empty and is due to be demolished this week.
The couple bought their home for £165,000 in August 2012 after visiting and being endeared by the ‘friendly’ community, with no concerns or warnings about erosion when they first bought the property.
Michael (left), Glenda (right) and their dog Rusty were forced to leave their home with only a couple of days’ notice as it was at risk of collapse due to rapid erosion
The couple said the experience had been ‘devastating’ and accused authorities of failing to help those losing their homes in this way
The couple lived at the property (pictured) in Hemsby, Norfolk since 2012 and were not told of any risks concerning erosion during its survey
Mrs Dennington, 80, said: ‘We moved to Norfolk 14 years ago after retiring because we love it here. We had a full survey on it before we moved in, no one mentioned erosion.
‘We had never heard of any erosion until 2013, when other houses were lost to sea after the storm surge that December.
‘2018 was really sad. We watched houses disappear into the sea. That is when the local council began having meetings about the erosion problem – Michael and I went to every meeting.’
It was then, Mrs Dennington said, erosion became a concern for Great Yarmouth Borough Council, who regularly held meetings with residents to discuss planning and funding to manage the coastline’s disappearance at an accelerating rate.
A total of 36 properties have been lost to the sea or demolished because of erosion since 2013, and 14 homes were were at risk of collapsing into the sea in Hemsby earlier this year because of Storm Goretti.
This was not something, however, that Mrs Dennington believed would ever affect her and her husband, with both of them believing they had found their ‘forever home’.
She said: ‘When we moved there, we could barely see the sea. It was in the distance. And as I say, erosion was never mentioned in the survey.
‘We never dreamed this would happen. The property was utopia, really. We have had many happy memories here.
‘Just after we moved there my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She spent many happy hours looking out in the garden.
‘When she was feeling down, she used to come here. She unfortunately passed away in 2016.’
The heartbreak of saying goodbye to their home was made even harder by seeing the demolition process unfold online.
‘I saw on Facebook our home being taken apart, quarter by quarter,’ Mrs Dennington said.
‘The front has been removed, and the bathroom and the utility room. At the back of the house, the conservatory has been removed. It is as if it’s being cut quarter by quarter.
‘It’s heartbreaking to see this happening on social media. I still can’t get my head around it – neither of us can. We are devastated.’
Glenda (left) and Michael (right) recalled the happy memories they shared with family in the property over the years
The property (pictured) sat on the Norfolk coast, an area increasingly impacted by erosion across the last decade
Mrs Dennington described how she and her husband were ‘more of less told to get out’ of the home they’d shared for over a decade by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
She said: ‘On January 6 we had a knock at the door from the council. They gave us notice that we needed to get out of the property by Thursday night because of the storm.
‘I told them Michael was not up to such a move after his operation – he was on morphine for pain. So, we were able to extend the evacuation to the Sunday.
‘I was told to “just go and have a cup of tea,” think about the situation and then sort out the forms.
‘It was unbelievable. It felt like they wanted me to sell my home away – they barely gave notice, and they more or less told us that we we’ve got to get out.
‘We didn’t sleep that night. On Saturday, we just couldn’t believe it was our last night in that bed. It was heartbreaking and still doesn’t feel real.’
The couple, who live with their youngest son Gary and pet dog Rusty, left their home on January 8 and stayed in temporary accommodation at a nearby holiday chalet before moving into their current rental property.
Throughout the moving process, Mrs Dennington said, the council offered minimal to zero support.
She said: ‘Our youngest son, who lives with us, has health problems. He suffers with a heart problem and he’s also got a back problem, and when we were trying to pack our stuff, he did a lot of lifting and it ended up that he couldn’t do much at all.
‘He looked after his dad while I was out 10 or 11 hours a day, trying to sort out clearing the home. Nobody came from the council to help. They did nothing to help us move – nothing at all.
In this aerial view properties stand next to rapidly eroding cliffs, on January 19, 2026 in Hemsby, England
Rusty pictured with Glenda and Michael’s son, Gary, in their former home
‘Michael was not up to moving, he was still on morphine. It was just an absolute nightmare.’
‘The council initially suggested a B&B for us to go to because they could accommodate us and our dog, Rusty, or if not, we should foster Rusty out or give him to family to look after.
‘But there was no way we were going to leave the dog somewhere unfamiliar, and because of Michael’s operation a B&B simply was not viable.
‘We also were not eligible for a council property because of our savings. We ended up rushing the lease for our current place, which our elder son found, in a day. If not, we would have had nowhere to go.’
However, the lease on their new rental is only for six months – leaving both worried and in a tricky financial situation. Mrs Dennington said the couple have spent a large portion of their savings on rent.
And, as revealed in yesterday’s letter to the Daily Mail, their insurance company has told them that they will not cover coastal erosion, leaving them with no financial safety net.
She continued: ‘We had saved for retirement, but at the end of the day with the extra costs of this move and now because we have to pay private rent; we’re probably going to have to go on benefits.
‘Our savings are going to disappear. We’ve paid for six-months rent on this new property and I think we’ve spent about £10,000 pound and there’s nothing to show for it.
‘Financially, I don’t think we we’re going to be able to buy another place. Until things have settled down, we just don’t know where we are financially.’
‘I want to see a future for us. At the minute, I don’t see a future for us because I keep thinking, we’ve moved ourselves into here with a few belongings, but in the end, we’ve got to start again in another five and a half months.
‘We’ve got to go through it all again, and we’ve got to sort out where we’re going to.’
The coastline of Hembsy has changed significantly in five decades, once being protected by rolling sand dunes with rows of homes set safely behind them.
Now those dunes have disappeared, and dozens of properties have been lost to the sea. In the past month alone, 14 homes have been demolished, with rubble removed by the local lifeboat station.
Hemsby is not alone. Homes are also being demolished at Thorpeness in Suffolk, where several more remain at risk.
Experts have warned that undefended coastal villages like Hemsby may have no long-term future, with this stretch of the Norfolk coast described as among the fastest-eroding in northern Europe.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: ‘Following the loss of more than 10m of cliff in Hemsby at the start of January, and with Storm Goretti fast approaching, a number of properties were assessed by experts as being at imminent risk of dangerously collapsing.
‘The council’s priority is the safety of its residents and the family was visited on January 6 and advised to leave the property before the storm hit because the property was extremely close to the cliff edge.
‘The options available were fully explained and advice and support around housing was offered. Temporary accommodation was made available, but in this case was refused and the family made its own arrangements.
‘It is extremely traumatic for anyone who faces the prospect of having to leave their home because of coastal erosion and the council is working to support those affected at what is an incredibly difficult time for them.’
