Devon's 'ghost town' where locals fled after the village fell into sea

It was a stormy night and the residents of the seaside town of Hallsand had battened down the hatches. But the thriving little town was to witness such a tempestuous night of foul weather it was never to be the same again.

By nightfall, six metres high waves and gale-force winds were relentlessly battering the doors of the thatched homes along the coast. During the night of January 26, 1917, under siege from the colossal storm that brought a combination of easterly gales and exceptionally high tides, Hallsands' defences were breached, and half the village fell into the sea. It wasn't just the fault of extremely bad weather though. This coastal town had been stripped of its natural defences as the UK Government of the time had extracted tonnes of sand and shell from its beaches for construction purposes in Devonport, ignoring local objections.

This left the town vulnerable to the waves and susceptible to severe coastal erosion.

By dawn, nearly the entire village had succumbed to the sea, yet miraculously, there were no casualties. All 79 villagers had managed to escape during a break in the storm and sought refuge on higher ground.

Only one house remained standing, situated on the road leading down to the village.

The house belonged to Elizabeth Prettyjohn, who adamantly refused to evacuate, residing there with her chickens until her death in 1964, at approximately 80 years of age.

She served as a guide to visitors over the years, intrigued to see the remnants of the village. Today, her house is used as a summer holiday home.

A spokesperson for Visit South Devon said: "The atmospheric ruined fishing village of Hallsands stands as testament to the power of the sea and the danger of over exploiting natural resources.

"It probably originated in about 1600 and grew during the 18th and 19th centuries. By 1891 it had 37 houses, a pub called the London Inn and a population of 159. Most residents owned their own homes and depended on fishing, particularly for crab for a living. It was a hazardous business, with irregular earnings, and frequent losses at sea. Everyone, including women and children, helped haul in the boats and nets. It was a very close community."

They explained that after Hallsands was destroyed, many families relocated to neighbouring villages, North Hallsands and Beesands, having lost everything to fight the long battle for compensation, which took seven years.

In 2006 the story of Hallsands was turned in to an opera called 'Whirlwind' commissioned by acclaimed opera company Streetwise Opera, and written by Will Todd one of the country's leading young opera composers and Ben Duwell.