THE North East corner of Watchet harbour was this morning cordoned off by police as high tides further widened the breach in the sea wall, which first collapsed on Saturday.

Cracks appeared in the 150-year-old sandstone wall, which is part of Watchet sea defences, followed by a 4ft square hole.

By this morning, this had grown to over 30ft wide and water was flooding under the concrete towards the nearby Watchet marina boat park.

A Watchet Coastguard spokesman said: “A cordon has been placed around access to the East Quay. With more strong winds and a high tide forecast, there is the possibility that more damage could occur and more collapse.”

Work is scheduled to start in the coming weeks on the £7 million East Quay development which will be situated only a short distance away from the breached wall.

For the full story – and the latest developments – buy Friday’s Free Press (December 20).