Residents have been left shovelling away “tons” of sand from their homes, cars and streets after 70mph winds battered the north Norfolk coast.

North Norfolk News:

People in Walcott and Bacton woke up on Saturday morning to piles of sand covering their whole village.

It comes after a double weather warning for winds up to 70mph and heavy rain hit the county on Friday.

Caroline Stubbs, the landlord of the Poachers Pocket pub said she had “never seen anything like it” in her 16 years as landlord.

She said: “We have spent the morning digging ourselves a path out of the pub so customers can get in.

North Norfolk News: People in Walcott and Bacton woke up on Saturday morning to piles of sand covering their whole village. Picture:Abigail NicholsonPeople in Walcott and Bacton woke up on Saturday morning to piles of sand covering their whole village. Picture:Abigail Nicholson (Image: Archant)

“It has come through every nook and cranny of the building, I had to get a locksmith to come out as I couldn’t get my key into the door because of a build up of sand.

“It must be about two foot high in places, it’s covering cars and farmers’ fields.

“We have already been through coronavirus and now we have a massive clean up operation on our hands.”

About 1.8m cubic metres of sand was pumped onto the beach in front of the Bacton Gas Terminal and the villages of Bacton and Walcott in 2019 as part of a new Sandscaping Project.

North Norfolk News: People in Walcott and Bacton woke up on Saturday morning to piles of sand covering their whole village. Picture:Abigail NicholsonPeople in Walcott and Bacton woke up on Saturday morning to piles of sand covering their whole village. Picture:Abigail Nicholson (Image: Archant)

The idea for the project originated following the devastation caused by the 2013 tidal storm surge, when hundreds of homes were flooded.

But landlady, Mrs Stubbs thinks the project caused the sand issues, she said: “It is 100pc the sandscaping project that has caused this. I have never seen anything like it in the 16 years of being a landlord.

“Everybody is helping each other and pulling together, we always do.”