'It was like a night in the Blitz' - Dawlish residents remember huge storm seven years after rail line was washed away

Today marks seven years since the South West's main railway line was severely damaged by storms.

After a major repair and rebuild effort, the end is in sight for the £80million Dawlish sea wall, designed to protect the track and the town from any further damage.

The first section of the new wall, to the east of the station, was completed last summer and work is well under way on the second phase to the west.

Julie Gregory, from Network Rail South West, said: "This is an absolutely vital railway link, it's the only link between the South West peninsula and the rest of the UK rail network. So it's absolutely key that we make it resilient."

The foundations for the second half of new wall are being installed, one by one, by a giant robot-like contraption called a 'Wave Walker'.

Julie added: "The great advantage it brings us is that we can pile 24 hours a day, without any impact from the tides. We're going to carry on building this year and into next year, and we aim to have the project complete in 2023."

Retired couple Val and Gerry Belcher clearly remember the night of February 4 2014.

Their beach-side guest house was used to shelter people who had been evacuated from their homes.

Val said: "It was a filthy night, you could hardly stand up."

"It was a night of horror, it was like a night in the Blitz in the Second World War," said Gerry. "People were being made homeless in front of you, coming out of their houses desperate, children crying."

Val added: "It was a filthy night, you could hardly stand up, terrifically windy, really bad."

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