Road collapses near Seaton due to rainfall

A road in Devon has been closed indefinitely after part of it collapsed.

Cracks - thought to be caused by persistent rain - began to appear on Old Beer Road in Seaton last week.

Within 48 hours part of the road had collapsed and Devon County Council is now concerned more of the road could disappear.

Large parts of the Jurrasic coast are notoriously unstable, but this section wasn't considered high risk. The councillor responsible for Devon's highways says weeks of relentless rain are responsible.

Stuart Hughes says, "You get the water in the rock and it's not getting the chance to dry out during the summer, and of course the prolonged rain has had its effect on this road which has had only just recently had some treatment done on it, so it was looking good for the next 10 to 15 years but, as you can see, now the road is closed and it's very doubtful, I think by looking at this, whether there is any land-take, whether this road will ever open again."

It's hoped that a route can be kept open for the walkers on the South West Coast Path.

You can watch John Andrews report on this here: