Clifftop homes begin to crumble into the sea in Norfolk as Britain is battered with harsh winds

A clifftop street began to crumble into the sea last night as Britain's coastline was battered by wild weather.

One home-owner described feeling a sudden tremble like an "earthquake" at the weekend as the cliff gave way. A garden shed and an oil tank plummeted into the sea after days of high winds and waves eroded the sandstone. 

It came as the so-called 'mini Beast from the East' cloaked much of Britain in a blanket of snow over the weekend amid warnings that rural communities could be cut off. 

The area in Hemsby, Norfolk, has been deemed "too dangerous" for the residents of 13 chalets who have been evacuated and may lose their homes, according to police who say there is a "very good chance" six of the properties will collapse into the sea. 

Homeowner Stephen Chadwick described the cliff falling in an "earthquake" at around 7.30am on Saturday morning as he enjoyed his morning coffee. 

"I bought it for sea views, beautiful sea views, and now the sea's taking it away," he told the BBC.

"I woke up this morning, had a cup of coffee at half past seven, the back door, and I felt ... it was like an earthquake, and the cliff just went.

"I'm just in total shock. Watching people taking my house apart. I don't think I'll be here tomorrow."

Paul Ray and other residents were forced to flee their homes overnight as five properties are considered to be of the highest risk with one "teetering on the edge", the local inshore lifeboat rescue service have said. 

He said it was "not safe to live there at all" and added: "You can't go round the back, if you did you'd go straight to the beach. 

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are working with the Environment Agency to decide which residents can return to their homes. 

The local coastguard have also warned the public to keep clear of the area, but locals have still been seen taking pictures near the sea edge. 

Tidal surges in 2013 saw three homes in the area fall into the sea and a further seven homes badly damaged.

Despite a bid for £2.3m for government funded flood defences, residents failed to secure funding. But in 2015 residents raised enough money for partial sea defences of honeycombed concrete blokes were installed in sand dunes. 

Meanwhile in Minehead, Somerset, a worried family are concerned their 16th century hotel may collapse into the sea at any moment after huge cracks appeared just metres from their door in the wake of Storm Emma which swept through the country. 

But hotelier Cara Strom, 42, and her partner Marcus Kravis, 49, have refused to give up serving food and drink despite having been forced to cancel overnight stays. 

It is feared the cracks could become worse as the south west has been issued with a yellow warning for snow and ice and forecasters warn strong winds will batter the coastline. 

The family, who took over the hotel 18 months ago, said they knew coastal erosion was a risk, but had no idea they'd lose ground so quickly.

Cara said: "I have never seen anything like this. Nobody would be able to give a time estimate. They do think it is very concerning.

"Once that land does slip away, we won’t be too far behind.

"The building will follow suit. I can’t afford to move anywhere else.

"It is my livelihood, job, home and my family’s home."

As the 'mini Beast from the East' arrived, South West England bore the brunt of the weekend's weather and villages in Dartmoor and Exmoor were warned residents may be unable to travel to due to inaccessible country roads. 

Forecasters said temperatures would feel as low as -10c across the entire country for the start of the week and said villages in Devon and Cornwall may find themselves facing burst pipes and power outages.   

The rest for the country will see an icy start but high pressure is expected to pick up and clear away the snow as temperatures pick up to around 5c.