A HOTEL owner’s 14-year battle against the sea finally ended this week with the heartbreaking decision that the landmark Blue Anchor Hotel will close for good at the end of September.

Following a major landslip after last March’s gales, deep cracks in the cliffs have spread and brought the 16th century building to within ten feet of the cliff edge, forcing the owners to turn away overnight guests on safety grounds.

“The tragedy is that, although business is really good, I simply can’t afford to borrow money to deal with the erosion problem owing to the uncertainty about what will happen in the future,” said Carla Strom.

In July, after lack of any action by the authorities, Carla and her family built their own sea defences, manhandling 35 tons of stone on to the beach in a last desperate attempt to save their home and business.

“It was too little, too late,” Cara said. “But we had to do something and no-one else would help.”

She claimed that there had been a complete lack of response from West Somerset Council, the authority responsible for coastal protection, despite countless appeals, over the past two years.

“They will not communicate or engage with us,” she said.

“They are the only people who could have helped, and they haven’t.”

Full story in today’sFree Press (September 14)