HIGH spring tides and strong winds battered Torcross on Sunday evening, terrifying residents and visitors alike, as windows and doors were smashed on the seafront.
Police and a fire crew from Kingsbridge were called to the village at about 8.30pm, following reports from the coastguard that people were trapped in flooded houses and that properties were being damaged.
PC James Timmis from Kingsbridge Police explained: ‘At 9.30pm the fire service arrived, and were monitoring and checking on the welfare of residents and visitors.
‘At that time, the sea was pounding houses, with ground and first floor windows and doors being smashed through, causing the electricity to trip out.
‘The fire service offered advice on safety and the Swift Water Rescue Team arrived from Camels Head in Plymouth with boats and dry suits in case anybody needed rescuing from the water.
‘By 11pm, the tide was dropping back, and by 11.30pm, the waves had stopped breaking over the sea wall. At this point, the fire chief and I agreed that it was safe to leave.
‘Fortunately nobody was injured, and the local community rallied around to keep everybody safe, with local fisherman and residents coming to help board up houses and put down sandbags.’
‘We also requested the attendance of the British Red Cross fire and emergency support service.
‘Crews carried out a check of the affected properties on the seaward side and to assess public safety within the properties and area.’
John Walker, a freelance cameraman from Dartmouth who visited Torcross on Monday morning, said: There was nobody around at 7am on Monday morning, but there was so much damage - windows smashed, doors blown in, slates ripped from the roofs and paving slabs dislodged.’
John spoke to Steve Collins, who was on holiday from Cheshire with his wife and three daughters, explaining: ‘The waves were getting higher and higher, so we drew the curtains because it felt like the window might go through.
‘There was an amazing crash and as I looked up, the window came through with an amazingly massive wave behind it.
‘My heart skipped a beat and we ran upstairs.’
‘The community have been fantastic, there was a group from the pub who called around to check if everybody was okay. And the firemen came around at about 11pm to see if we were okay, and that was very reassuring.
‘It’s good to know that people were looking out for each other. There’s a brilliant sense of community here.’
Torcross has experienced a rough start to the year, with part of the sea wall collapsing during the storms in February.