Grandmother vows to remain in cliff top home Although almost every one of her neighbours on Beach Road, Happisburgh, has reluctantly sold up and moved inland, she has vowed to remain until the sea finally forces her away. Dubbed a modern day "King Canute" after the English ruler said to have tried to turn back the tide, she said she "loved" living by the sea, watching the sun rise through one window and set in another. The mother of three, who runs a tractor repair business, was fully aware of the risks when she purchased the property, just 45ft away from the 80ft drop, for £25,000 in 2008. She admitted that she knew the day would come when her neighbours" homes would be knocked down but expressed dismay that the district council had not fought to preserve the coastline. "This is the beginning of the end of Beach Road as we know it," she said, as she watched a neighbour's home being razed to the ground. More than 20 properties in the area have been lost to the sea over the last 20 years. Efforts to hold back the tide proved futile and the government refused to provide the funds needed to shore up the coast. Malcolm Kerby, of Happisburgh's Coastal Concern Action Group, led a campaign for compensation and eventually managed to secure money from the Coastal Pathfinder scheme, designed to help people deal with the impact of erosion. The funds meant that North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) was able to offer up to 40 per cent of the value of cliff top homes to allow families to relocate. Of 12 homes identified as being under threat, nine were bought by the council last year. The remaining two which will not be demolished are used as holiday homes by their owners. A NNDC spokesman said Mrs Nierop-Reading, who is separated and lives with her four cats, was "not yet in personal danger." He said the council would monitor the situation until the point comes when it is certified as too dangerous to live in. "At that point, she will have to accept the inevitable," he said. But she bought the property knowing that its life was limited and wants to enjoy it for as long as she can. A public landscaped "buffer" will be created on the cliff top in place of the homes, featuring open areas sown with wildflowers.