Neighbours in £325K seafront homes at war over HUGE landslide that destroyed their gardens after local says his extension had ‘nothing to do’ with slip carnage

• EXCLUSIVE: Local residents in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, were evacuated from their homes last week
• Herculas Pretorius, 62, who lives at the top of the cliffs says the finger is wrongly pointed in his direction
• Residents must now decide who will be responsible for damages after landslide ‘tore through’ the village

 

Neighbours living in a seaside town are waging war over damages after a huge landslide ‘tore through’ gardens and homes.

Residents living at the top and bottom of the the cliffs in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, were evacuated from their homes last week after a ‘perilous’ landslip.

Aerial footage showed the scale of carnage, which left a conservatory smashed to pieces with debris, bricks and glass scattered across gardens. 

But as plans begin for a clean up on the seafront street, where house prices average at £325,000, arguments over who is responsible are raging.

Herculas Pretorius, 62, who is in the process of building an extension to his property at the top of the cliffs, says the finger is wrongly pointed in his direction.

But the South African, who bought the property on West Hill at auction in 2003, denies his building caused the chaos.

He told MailOnline: ‘I just feel so sorry for those people down there.

‘I’m just glad nobody was injured. It has all been quite stressful, but the work has nothing to do with the land slip.’

Neighbours living in St Leonards are waging war after a huge landslide damaged homes and gardens

One resident under fire is 62-year-old Herculas Pretorius, who is in the process of building an extension to his property at the top of the cliffs (Pictured: Mr Pretorius, right, and his son Andrias, left)

Local residents living both at the top and below the cliffs in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, were evacuated from their homes last week after the ‘perilous’ landslip 

Aerial footage from the landslide showed the scale of damage caused by the collapsed ground, which left homes at the bottom of a steep decline directly in the line of fire for falling clumps of soil

A conservatory sat at the bottom of the cliff had been completely smashed to pieces with debris, bricks and glass scattered across the ground

Mr Pretorius said structural engineers have told him there is no damage to his property and work on his renovations and extension is continuing.

Families at the top and bottom of the cliffs were rushed to a nearby hotel twice in the last week after the land slipped and rubble started tumbling down.

The fire service and other expert engineers examined buildings on West Hill before allowing people to return to their homes.

Graeme Stoodley, a retired resident who lives on St Leonards seafront at the bottom of the cliffs, said the blame game has already started.

He explained: ‘The council have sent everybody along here a letter saying to phone 999 if you have a problem, we don’t want to know about it.

‘We had ten people in our building looking at the damage in one day. They’re all wriggling trying to get out of it.

‘It’s everybody along this seafront. We are all wondering if the insurance companies are going to pay.

‘Nobody is selling anything along this front for a few years now, that’s for sure.’

Despite neighbours looking for the culprit of the landslide, all agree the recent torrential rain has been a big factor in loosening the earth on the cliffs. 

A conservatory sat at the bottom of the cliff had been completely smashed to pieces with debris, bricks and glass scattered across the ground

An aerial view of Mr Pretorius’ house, where extension work is taking place, which neighbours believe was at fault for the slide

The beginning of the landslide which trailed down the cliff damaging dirt and debris down the cliff in St Leonards

Mr Pretorius said structural engineers have told him there is no damage to his property and work on his renovations and extension is continuing

An aerial view of the landslide in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, where house prices average at £325,000

A crater can be seen directly outside Mr Pretorius’ seaside home where works are currently taking place

Families at the top and bottom of the cliffs were evacuated to a nearby hotel twice in the last week after the land slipped and rubble started tumbling down

The fire service and other expert engineers examined buildings on West Hill before allowing people to return to their homes

The conservatory of a house at the bottom of the cliff, which can be seen completely destroyed by the landslip

‘We’ve had so much rain,’ Mr Stoodley said. ‘We’ve got sandbags coming tomorrow because, chances are, more earth and stuff will be washed down.’

Nearby Hastings town centre was completely flooded after Storm Ciaran hit the south coast and the threat of more landslips has not passed.

‘It’s all clay which absorbs the rain,’ Mr Pretorius said. ‘We’ve lost about 2m in the last 20 years.’

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

Mr Pretorius said his land extended to a restraining wall which collapsed under pressure from the deluge of water and there is a no man’s land running through the middle of the hill.

Meanwhile, Mr Stoodley said the properties on Marina at the bottom of the hill extend all the way up.

A spokesman for Hastings Borough Council explained they are currently carrying out an investigation, but insisted they do not own the land.

He said: ‘Council officers visited the site with structural engineers and emergency services to assess the situation.

‘We are now waiting for a full report from the structural engineers and risk assessments have been carried out to ensure the safety of residents.’

The council has advised residents to speak to their insurance companies or landlords.

‘The council’s Planning service is currently investigating the initial reports received,’ the spokesman said.

Mr Pretorius said he was granted planning permission not long after acquiring the property at the top of West Hill.

‘I can understand the council not wanting to take any responsibility for it,’ he said.

‘We are still investigating to find out who the land belongs to. It’s going to be a long time before this is sorted out.’

Among the destruction was a historic Victorian building that was previously used as a billiards room. Reports surfaced that it had been ‘absolutely destroyed’ and ‘engulfed with loose mud and concrete’.

The billiard room destroyed by the tumbling rubble was built for German Kaiser Wilhelm, Graeme Stoodley said.

‘It was a lovely building and it’s completely knackered now. As it used to belong to royalty, maybe the King would like to pay for it?’

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