Luxury mansion just one metre from cliff edge after landslides.

On the brink: Luxury mansion just ONE METRE from cliff edge after two landslides dump garden into the sea

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 2:45 PM on 9th February 2011

The owners of a luxury clifftop mansion are living on the edge - after seeing part of their garden crash into the sea.

The unnamed couple paid £1.75 million for the picturesque property in Dawlish, south Devon, 18 months ago.

The end of the four bedroom property's stone terrace which enjoys stunning paranormaic views over Dawlish towards Exmouth, is now only a metre away from the edge of the 200 foot high cliffs.

On the brink: The £1.75 million property in Dawlish, south Devon, teeters precariously on the edge of the cliff

But they have suffered two landslips in the space of just four days.

On Saturday the latest fall saw the bottom of their garden disappear from the sheer cliff face into the sea - taking with it part of their boundary fence.

Bit by bit: This picture was taken in 2007 when 80ft of the home's garden plunged into the sea. But the cliff hasn't stopped crumbling

A tree cashed down with tons of soil and left a gaping hole where the fence had stood and a crack where another part of the land appears perilously close to falling.

A neighbour said the first fall happened last Wednesday when part of the red stone cliff collapsed.

Salvage: The owner is getting civil engineers to examine the cliffs in a bid to save her home

The owner of the house - who does not want to be named - said: 'There was an earlier fall about four years ago but this one has brought down at last one tree and it looks like there are several others which could come down.

'It has worsened since Saturday and we have had metal safety grills put up.

'I imagine it will cost thousands to stabilise the rest of the cliff.' 

She is now getting civil engineers to examine the cliffs to see what can be done to shore up the remaining land.

Planners approved the development in 2005 with a number of conditions including a full geotechnical report to ensure the future stability of the cliff which would not be affected by the property's construction.

A Teignbridge Council spokesman said all conditions were met by the original applicant to allow the house to be built.

Members of the council's Green Spaces team visited the site after the first landslip to check on the damage.

It is thought the falls may be due to normal coastal erosion caused by factors like the sea undercutting the cliff base.

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