An alarmed Fife family is losing around 20cm of garden ground a day following the dramatic collapse of coastal defences.
Pittenweem couple Rob Allen and Catherine Hughes were woken by another huge rock fall in the early hours of Wednesday.
Several metres have already disappeared from their garden and they fear for their home as the erosion creeps ever closer.
They, and 16-year-old daughter Lilia, are having sleepless nights while Fife Council works to ascertain ownership of the affected land.
And they claim officials are ignoring their pleas for emergency help to shore up the crumbling rockface.
It forms part of Pittenweem’s sea wall and is topped by a path which ran in front of the family home.
Rob was injured when the concrete gave way beneath him as he returned from a dog walk on Sunday.
Fife Council has warned buildings may have to be evacuated if serious concerns emerge about their integrity.
Dispute over who owns the affected wall
The incident came days after the region was battered by Storm Babet followed by an unusually high spring tide.
Rob, an IT manager with RBS, said it had been suggested he and Catherine were responsible for the wall.
“Nobody has been in contact with us directly,” he said.
“But we’re told they’re looking at the land register to see who owns the harbour wall.
“Even though our deeds don’t show we own it, they’re trying to say our deeds are wrong.”
Rob has a masters degree in structural geology but even he is shocked at the speed of the land loss.
“We’re losing 20cm a day. We’re not sleeping,” he said.
Pittenweem house ‘could collapse into the sea’
Several other neighbouring homes in Abbey Wall Road are also affected.
However, most are holiday homes with owners living elsewhere and it’s been left to Rob and Catherine to deal with the aftermath.
“We’re in contact with our insurance company but we need help now to protect our home,” Rob said.
Pittenweem councillor Sean Dillon called on Fife Council to sort out the situation as a matter of priority.
“There’s imminent danger to property and danger to life even,” he said.
“The council need to put that before ownership.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor visited the family on Monday to see the damage for himself.
And he added: “The ownership problem can be looked at later.
“We have to prioritise the fact that if there is another storm, we could see that property collapse into the sea.”
What is Fife Council doing about it?
Fife Council says it is monitoring the situation closely.
Building standards and public safety manager Garry Nicoll said: “If any serious concerns emerge regarding the integrity of any of the buildings, or if public safety becomes compromised, we may require the buildings to be evacuated.”
Restrictions may also be put in place around the wider area.
Meanwhile, Mr Nicoll said the service is engaging with occupants and encouraging owners to seek independent specialist advice.
“In the meantime, we have arranged fencing to restrict access and direct people away from the area of collapsed wall in the interests of public safety,” he said.
“We are establishing ownership of the retaining wall to identify the responsible interests and agree how best to move this situation forward.”
Conversation