ENGINEERS are working round the clock in a race against time to save Watchet Marina from the sea after the harbour wall was smashed down on Monday for the second time in two months.

Some of the biggest tides of the year and Storm Ciara’s 60mph winds tore into the 150-year-old wall on the East Pier at Splash Point, sweeping away December’s temporary repairs, and by Wednesday the sea had reaching to within six feet of the North East corner of the marina.

Over 700 tons of boulders, some weighing more than three tons, used in the repairs, were scattered more than 40 feet along the beach.

“The material underpinning the quay is being destroyed at a rate of over 15 feet a tide and the hole in the wall is now three times bigger than the one we tackled before Christmas,” said Somerset West and Taunton Council’s localities manager Chris Hall.

On Wednesday, workers made the first attempts to halt the relentless erosion of the quay, by making a temporary barrier of smashed concrete and rubble

“If we can’t contain the damage while a permanent strategy is being prepared, there is a very real threat that the marina will be breached by the sea. It’s as serious as that,” Mr Hall said.

But yesterday (Thursday) there were signs that the temporary measures could have slowed the destruction of the quay although it is now less than half its original width and waves have scooped out a huge cave beneath the structure.

Workers were also on the beach banking up rock armour and two-ton bags of stones to help protect the most vulnerable parts of the breach and hopefully prevent further major damage.

“We will not stop until we have sorted out this problem,” Mr Hall said.

And he added: “It is vital to get the work going at top speed because the harbour is now extremely vulnerable to forthcoming big tides and bad weather. There really is not a moment to lose.”

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