THE round-the-clock operation to save Watchet marina after the harbour wall was breached twice in two months is finally winning its battle against the sea, specialist engineers said this week.

Despite some of the biggest tides of the year and Storm Dennis’s 60mph winds, the emergency barriers protecting the gaping hole in the sea wall at Splash Point held firm last weekend and work is now well underway on a new permanent sea wall.

At the height of Storm Ciara the previous week, giant waves swept away the 700 tons of boulders plugging the first breach in December and undermined the quay to within six feet of the marina.

“The temporary barriers that we put in place, plus protective rock armour on the beach, slowed the rate of destruction which had previously been at least 15ft a tide,” said a Somerset West and Taunton Council spokesman.

“If it hadn’t worked, there was a very real threat that the marina would have been breached by the sea.

“Our barriers withstood the worst of Storm Dennis and gave us breathing space to complete our plans for a permanent replacement wall.

“These are now going ahead and for the first time, after all the setbacks and disappointments, we can start to believe that we’re winning the battle.”

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