Pier washes away and railway sea wall crumbles in storm

As Storm Ingrid lashes Devon and Cornwall, part of a historic pier has washed away, and a sea wall next to a railway line has crumbled. Cate Williams, the mayor of Teignmouth, said the town had taken a real battering overnight into Saturday with just wild waves damaging a portion of Teignermouth Grand Pier. With services now suspended between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth, a sea wall covering the railway line in Dawlish has partially collapsed and passengers. Flooding warnings have been in place along the south Devon and south Cornwall coasts, according to a Met Office yellow warning for rain until 22:00 GMT, and the Environment Agency reports flood warnings are in place.

Teignmouth's mayor said it was sad to see part of the resort's pier, which opened in 1867, washed away.

It has lost a piece of the pier structure itself, which has dissipated and plunged into the sea,

she said.

It's an old pier and it needs some attention, but I suspect age and wear and tear have taken its toll.

It has survived many weather conditions as well as world wars. It's sad to see some of it now missing when you look at it now.

According to resident Peter Large, Dawlish also had a very good night. Part of the wall separating the rail line had just crumbled, he said. The wall is now gone at either end, he said.

I'm looking at it now, and a strip about 80 to 90 feet long where the wall has just crumbled.

The waves are now crashing over the railway line and over the wall.

As 12ft (4m) waves struck the sea wall at Dawlish, Network Rail issued a black alert, the highest warning. It's only the second time a black alert has been issued since a storm destroyed portions of the trackaround Dawlish in February 2014. The sea wall at Dawlish would be checked once the storm had passed, according to the Great Western Railway, and services would be suspended until at least 18:00 GMT. With tickets remaining valid on Sunday, the company advised passengers to avoid rail travel.

The owner of a converted shipping container in Cornwall said they had battled with stormy weather and that their cafe, which had been bashed in by waves. We have a lot of water coming in, Emily Davidson, the owner of Castle Beach Cafe in Falmouth, told BBC Radio Cornwall.

All of our electrics have failed. We had some glass sliding doors that had snapped.

It's really disheartening because you invest a lot of money to storm-proof it and then the harm comes.

Due to flooding, rail services in Par and Newquay, Liskeard, and Looe have also been suspended.

There's been a lot of rubble that has been thrown onto the sea, and it will have to be cleared before we can run trains safely,

GWR spokesman James Davis said.

The line remains closed, and we now have a limited bus replacement service.

Clearly, if the same number of people choose to travel as normal, you're going to end up spending a long time.

Trees have also fallen throughout the region, with one blocking both lanes of the A377 near Lapford, Devon County Council said. Following Storm Goretti, Cornwall Council warned that trees may now be weak or unstable.

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