A pensioner has launched a High Court legal battle against a government-funded organisation after he was told that he must not prevent his cliffside home from falling into the sea.

Peter Boggis, a retired engineer, built his own coastal defences to prevent erosion that was threatening his home as well as neighbouring properties.

But Natural England wants the fossil-bearing cliffs on which the houses stand to wear away, exposing soil and rock that they want to study.

In 2006 it declared that the area was a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Mr Boggis was banned from maintaining his ‘soft sea defences'.

The 77-year-old is currently arguing at London's High Court that Natural England has acted beyond its powers and has no legal right to prevent him from defending his home.

The case, which is believed to have cost around £50,000 to bring to court, is "extremely critical for all people living along the coast" as they might also be prevented from protecting their homes, according to Mr Boggis.

Gregory Jones, Mr Boggis' lawyer, told Mr Justice Blair - the brother of the former Prime Minister - that the purpose of SSSIs was to conserve or preserve geological features, not to study the results of cliff destruction.

Natural England argues that it had a legitimate scientific interest in allowing the sea to erode the cliffs.