© Daily MailCollapse: A huge hole opens up in a road alongside the railway line at Dawlish, Devon, which is left hanging in mid-air after the sea wall was washed away during storms.
Householders attempting to stay put despite the water surging into their properties were warned by loudspeakers on police helicopters of an 'imminent threat to life', as more rain lashed into the area.
Royal Marines have been assisting with sandbag defences in the flood-hit region, which had been told to expect another 1.6in of rainfall by this morning.
Making an exit: Bob Hall stands in his flooded kitchen before loading his possessions onto a tractor trailer as he prepares to leave his property in Fordgate, Somerset.
Helping hand: Devon and Somerset Fire service deliver a pump to residents flooded in Fordgate on the Somerset Levels near Bridgwater.
Leave right now: Police recommended that Northmoor, Saltmoor and Fordgate residents evacuate the villages because of the severe weather warning.
Just a few homeowners were determined to hold out in Moorland, Northmoor, Saltmoor and Fordgate, despite the worsening situation.
Yesterday flood water rose by up to 2ft in some areas in just a few hours when river defences were breached.
Some of those remaining said they were doing so to protect their property from opportunistic thieves who might target the area. Earlier this week heating oil and quad bikes were stolen by criminals. But some homeowners were reluctant to leave and watched helplessly yesterday as waves of sewage-filled water engulfed their homes.
Sue Sayer, 50, of Moorland, said: 'I'm not moving out. If I go, who's going to look after our house and the other houses here?
'There is a lot of talk of looting at the moment and there are lots of strange cars around.
Concerns: Two weather systems are on course to collide in the coming days, bringing more than an inch of rain to some areas. Mr Hall is pictured in Fordgate.
Rising waters: Homeowner Louise Barnett and her friend Elliot Outram move belongs from her house in Moorland, Somerset.
Julian Taylor, 72, and his wife Mary, 68, initially resisted evacuation but finally fled yesterday after they watched nine inches of murky water pour into their home in Fordgate.
Mr Taylor said: 'It was awful. We are out now, we've put the dogs in kennels and we are staying with friends on a short-term basis but ultimately we have nowhere to go.'
Yesterday heavy rain continued to fall on to the swollen River Tone, which poured into an already-overwhelmed reservoir and over the top of a man-made defence wall near the villages.
Maria Mae also abandoned her Fordgate home after 2ft of sewage-filled water poured into her cottage in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Fighting back tears, she said: 'We couldn't do it any more, so we decided to just move out.
Departure: Somerset farmer Mr Hall, 66, loads some of his possessions onto a tractor trailer as he prepares to leave his property yesterday in Fordgate.
Submerged: Cattle are evacuated from rising flood water at James Winslade's West Yeo Farm near Moorland, Somerset.
Residents of Dawlish, where a section of railway is suspended in mid-air, could only watch as their properties continued to be battered by waves, with one bottomless garage looking particularly precarious.
The Environment Agency yesterday issued two severe weather warnings, indicating 'imminent danger to life', alongside 20 warnings of immediate danger and 50 alerts to be prepared.
Police sought to reassure residents concerned about leaving their property. Chief Superintendent Caroline Peters of Avon and Somerset Police said there had been just three flood-related thefts, adding: 'You are safe. We have ramped up patrol plans.'
It comes as residents in a Devon town spoke of how they were evacuated from their crumbling homes after waves destroyed coastal defences.
Night light: Royal Marines are assisting with sandbag defences in the flood-hit region, which has been told to expect another 1.6in of rainfall by tomorrow morning.
Evacuation: Neil Jones and his son Issac were among the 50 people who were told to leave their homes next to the Dawlish railway lines which were left hanging in the air.
Now another band of heavy rain is forecast to sweep across southern Britain today, with a separate area of low pressure bringing more rain and very strong winds on Saturday.
Homeowners said they were forced to leave their home with nothing more than 'the clothes on our backs'.
Neil Jones and his son Issac were among the 50 people who were told to leave their homes next to the Dawlish railway lines which were left hanging in the air.
He said: 'It was like living in a washing machine. We have been left with the clothes on our backs. I never thought that wall would go.'
He said 'it was already scary' two hours before high tide smashed through the railway sea wall and by 10.30pm the 'railway line was like a roller coaster because the water had got under the line'.
Retired Robert Parker, 62, spoke from outside his battered home in Dawlish, Devon.
He said: 'It was horrendous, like an earthquake. The house was jumping up and down on its footings. We may lose everything. The house was going up and down.
'The wind was more like a hurricane. I have never experienced anything like it. It is a freak of nature. It felt almost like the end of the world at one point.
'It's the worst thing I have ever seen. The water was coming through the back door, the patio doors, even the double glazed windows.'
Residents fear their homes could crash into the sea when the next storm hits.
Obliterated: Workmen assess a huge hole exposing ground services and exposed railway track after the sea wall collapsed in Dawlish, where high tides and strong winds have created havoc.
Slipping away: Furniture and possessions fall from a sea front home in Dawlish after the ground beneath it was literally swept out to sea.
Sharri Campbell, 24, was evacuated from her ground-floor flat next to the collapsed rail line, on Tuesday night.
The mother-of-two said: 'I've been here for three years and I've never seen it so bad. It was really noisy. I heard a loud bang and the sea wall collapsed into the sea.
'The waves were huge and were reaching the third-floor flat which I've never known to happen before.
© Daily Mail
Dawlish destruction: With high tides combined with gale force winds and further heavy rain, some parts of the UK are bracing themselves for more flooding.
The 19th Century Coastal Line Linking Cornwall to London'My landlady said she had lived in Dawlish for 21 years and it's never been so bad. It's really worrying.'
The Dawlish stretch of the railway line, built by Isambard Kingdon Brunel, is popular with train passengers for its scenic views.
It is the main coastal line which links Penzance and Plymouth to Paddington, in London, and is the main train route into Cornwall for thousands of passengers every week.
The section along the sea wall was opened by the South Devon Railway Company, running from Exeter St Davids railway station to Teignmouth railway station, on May 30, 1846.
It was later extended to Newton Abbot railway station on December 31 of the same year.
The destruction caused to the sea wall at Dawlish yesterday is not the first time that section of the line has been put in jeopardy.
A large landslip from the cliffs to the east of Teignmouth forced the railway to be closed for four days in December 1852, while the sea broke the line in 1855 and 1859.
The line has been closed a number of times in the subsequent years and in 2010 it was heard in Parliament how about £9m had been invested in recent years to keep the sea wall safe and cliff faces stable.
Tracie Eaves, 30, lives with her two children Jordan, six and Caitlyn, eight, but has been staying with her partner Carl after the family were evacuated from their seafront home on Tuesday evening.
She said: 'I don't really know what's going on. As far as I know they're doing an assessment today, but we've not heard much.
'We went up to the leisure centre where lots of the residents are staying and I spoke to someone who said it was going to be weeks until we can go back, if at all.
'We live right next to where the hole opened up and from what I've seen on the news the building is still there, but we're not able to go down there so I don't know how much damage has been done. I've not had a chance to think about compensation or anything yet.'
The storm smashed railway line connecting Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK will cost the region's economy millions of pounds a day and take at least six weeks to repair, business leaders have said.
In Cornwall the storms have caused damage set to cost £14 million to repair so far this year, says Cornwall Council.
Devon and Cornwall Business Council's Tim Jones said the rail break at Dawlish was 'hugely damaging' and believes it will cost between £1m an £2m a day. But David Parlby, from Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, believes the cost is even greater, possibly ten times as much.
He said: 'Financially we think it will cost £20 million for each day the line is closed - to have it disconnected is a major blow.'
He said: 'Once again we are cut off from the rest of the country by rail. Now following the storm damage at Dawlish, the rest of the peninsula is also cut off and we don't know when the line will be restored. The region deserves more help. We've been told we just had the wettest January in memory. But that followed the wettest January in memory last year.
'The time has come for the Government to take more action to make sure that Devon and Cornwall don't get cut off for weeks every winter. We need urgently to look at how our rail links can be better protected.
Mr Hart said travellers have been forced to travel by bus from Exeter to Taunton for several weeks - and now the same thing will happen for travellers in south Devon with the Dawlish line out of action until March at least meaning travel chaos on the main Paddington to Penzance service.
The devastation in Dawlish came as thousands of homes and businesses were flooded, damaged or without power after yet another mammoth storm hit Britain's coasts.
More communities in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and South Wales were under water after rivers burst their banks and huge waves breached sea defences.
At least 8,000 properties were without power and 60,000 had it restored after winds hit 92mph overnight and 'airborne debris' smashed overhead cables.
Police in Somerset were forced to take the skies to warn residents of imminent danger, swooping across remote villages in helicopters equipped with Tannoy systems to urge them to abandon their homes.
And around 4 million people suffered nightmare commutes as much of the London Underground was shut after a 48-hour strike got under way.
In response to the latest weather crisis to hit the country, David Cameron has promised an extra £100million for flood defences and chaired a meeting of the Cobra national committee to discuss the crisis.
Rising water: A waterside bar is pounded by the waves in Plymouth as the south-west bears the brunt of the Atlantic storm that first hit overnight.
Pounded: A harbour and its waterside restaurant are battered by heavy seas yesterday, leaving debris strewn across the sea front.
© Daily MailDramatic: The church at Porthleven in south-west Cornwall is engulfed by waves during the high winds again battering the country
© Daily MailThe sea pours down a flooded street in Newlyn, Cornwall as high seas battered the South-West.
It said yesterday morning's high tide caused problems, particularly in Dawlish, Devon, where sea defences were torn up and houses evacuated.
The next high tide was due at 5pm, with further damage expected to be inflicted on Britain's battered sea front towns. Winds of up to 92mph have been reported in the Isles of Scilly.
The destruction of Dawlish's railway line has effectively cut off rail links to Cornwall, with a 200ft stretch of tracks left mangled and hanging over the boiling seas. The line, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and popular for its stunning view, could be out of action for months.
On the seafront huge granite blocks had been ripped out by the force of the crashing waves and gales and 20 homes had to be evacuated and people moved to a leisure centre.
MPs from across Devon and Cornwall yesterday evening met with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and senior executives from Network Rail to stress the gravity of the situation. Gary Streeter, the Tory MP for South West Devon, told Western Morning News that the meeting had been 'positive' and that the Minister 'has got the message'.
He added that Network Rail had vowed to 'bring in some heavy muscle' by transferring machinery which had been working on the Whiteball Tunnel refurbishment near Taunton to the devastated seaside town.
Spray: Waves crash into boarded up houses at Portmellon, Cornwall.
Out of action: A sportscar has slipped into a drainage channel in the fierce storms which whipped across Portmellon the night before.
© Daily MailThrill seekers: Despite being warned to stay away from the coast after a number of deaths in the past month these young men took huge risks by trying to get pictures of large waves in Brighton.
PM pledges extra £100 million'I'm confident the Government has fully got a grip of it, we just need to keep the pressure on to ensure a solution is found,' said Mr Streeter.
An extra £100million in emergency funding has been found to deal with the damage caused by the devastating floods.
David Cameron said the extra cash was new money which would be used for repairs, maintenance and tackle long-standing problems on the Somerset Levels.
He also took a swipe at the Environment Agency's decision to stop dredging in some areas, insisting what is right some parts of the country could be right for others.
'There shouldn't be a false choice between protecting the town and protecting people in the countryside,' he added.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions Mr Cameron announced that additional money had been found from Treasury funds to deal with the clean-up.
He told MPs: 'Let me announce today that a further £100million will be made available to fund essential flood repairs and maintenance over the next year.
'This will cover £75million for repairs, £10million for urgent work in Somerset to deliver the action plan which is being prepared by the local agencies and £15million for extra maintenance'.
Labour leader Ed Miliband told the Commons: 'Many of those affected feel the Government's response has been slow and that more could have been done sooner.'
One rail worker said: 'It's a mess. The station is shut and the waves are crashing over the top of the two tracks. One of the platforms is in danger of being washed away.
Devon councillor John Clatworthy said the county had suffered the worst damage for more than a century. 'The storm was unbelievable,' he said.
Huge lumps of masonry lie shattered on the ground after the savage impact of the storm which struck it yesterday and the night before.
In Porthleven, seven boats sank after the outer harbour was breached. In Newquay, winds ripped the roof off a hotel. Around 60 people were asked to evacuate Kingsand and Torcross in Devon after waves sent rocks and stones flying at their homes. Up to 40 holiday homes in Millendreath were flooded.
In Dorset, Portland was cut off from the mainland after 30ft waves pounded the peninsula. A flood siren sounded for only the second time in its history. Along the coast, another huge chunk was torn out of Brighton's derelict West Pier.
Inland, 70mph gales felled around 100 trees and knocked out power to 44,250 homes. Around 7,400 were still without power last night, mostly in Cornwall.
In Somerset, police flew across drenched communities by helicopter to warn homeowners to head to evacuation centres after experts warned of 'imminent danger to life'.
Officers used a powerful PA system attached to the aircraft to issue their warning to hundreds of people in Northmoor, Saltmoor and Fordgate. Emergency vehicles battled through the thigh-high water take the 120 most at-risk families to safety.
Distraught residents were taken to a nearby evacuation centre where they would be able to stay overnight after the Environment Agency (EA) issued a severe weather warning.
The River Tone is continuing to spill into a reservoir near the villages and it is feared the waters - already at 7.8m - will top the man made wall and run into properties.
The evacuation centre at North Petherton Bowling Club, in Bridgwater, is set up to accommodate 60 people - but another one is on standby should it be overwhelmed.
Transport: A resident waits for an all-terrain vehicle to take her along the flooded road into Muchelney from Langport, Somerset.
They reported that they had received at least 70 calls about fallen trees in the space of just one hour.
'There remains a host of minor road closures throughout the region due to road debris and fallen trees,' an Environment Agency spokesman said.
'Motorists are warned to expect the unexpected on rural roads and drive according to road conditions.
'Flood water should also be avoided and speeds should be lowered on the region's main road network.'
In the South West 200 electrical engineers have been working through to repair damage caused by debris being blown into overhead lines by strong winds.
A Met Office forecaster said the winds in the region are likely to 'continue along a similar sort of strength' today.
It issued 'be prepared' amber warnings for strong winds across southern England and Wales.
'The band of rain which is moving across from the south west will continue its journey north-eastwards during the course of the night, with fragmented outbreaks of rain - still pretty heavy - following on behind,' the Met Office said.
'It will continue to be very windy. We can expect to see gusts of 60-70mph quite widely across parts of south Wales, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, those sorts of areas.
The coastal Wet Wok Chinese Restaurant in Plymouth, Devon.
Speaking specifically about the south west and the chances of the winds subsiding, he added: 'I would suspect they will probably continue along a similar sort of strength.
The Prime Minister decided to take personal charge of the latest meeting of Cobra - which has met on a daily basis for most of the flooding period - because of the scale of Tuesday night's storms, which had inflicted disruption affecting several ministries.
'We saw last night more severe storm weather which has had a significant impact on power supplies,' his official spokesman said.
'It's also had an impact on transport infrastructure, particularly the railway line from Exeter into Cornwall, as well as of course impact on flooding, including on areas that are already suffering from flooding.
'So it will an opportunity for the Prime Minister to be able to get the very latest on what is being done in all of those areas.'
The spokesman said that 60,000 homes had been reconnected to power supplies overnight, and that 8,000 which remained cut off were expected to be reconnected over the course of the day.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions Mr Cameron later announced that an additional £100million had been found from Treasury funds to deal with repairs, clean-up and flood protection.
Destructive: The sea wall at Dawlish, Devon, has been broken by ferocious waves while a Devon ice cream stand has been damaged and swept away.
Debris: The rubble of damaged sea defences and pathways is shown here scattered along the seafront in Penzance.
Awesome power: Gale-whipped breakers lash the Cornish coast yesterday. In some places, the waves reached 38ft - higher than in surfing resorts in Hawaii, Fiji and Australia.
Torn away: Sea wall, paving slabs and railings were ripped up and tossed aside overnight on the Devon coast.
Plume of water: Huge waves pound the sea wall at Portreath in Cornwall during the current severe storms.
A section of the 148-year-old, Grade-I listed West Pier in Brighton fell victim to the weather.
Rachel Clark, chief executive of the West Pier Trust, which owns it, said: 'There have been collapses for several weeks as we've had the high winds, but this is more significant and obvious.
'A significant section of the pavilion island skeleton has collapsed. It's very sad but it was always going to happen.
'It's not being maintained and eventually the elements are going to take their toll, and they have again this time but much more significantly.'
Seven boats moored in a Cornish harbour were sunk by the monster storm while in Porthleven the sea has smashed through the harbour sinking the boats.
The Cornish Coastguard said: 'The pier is pretty much submerged most of the time with waves breaking over the top of the tower.
'It's probably the worst we've seen down here since 1989.'
Michelle Powell, from the Horse and Jockey Bakery, said: 'I have never seen it as bad as this in 50 years.'
Casualty: This 150 year old tree has been taken down by the high winds at the Hotel Dyfryn in Ardudwy, North Wales.
Bruised: These cattered beach huts in Charmouth, Dorset, have been thrown away by the wind and waves.
Riverside restaurant: This aptly names eatery at West Bay in Dorset shows how South Coast bore the brunt of more ferocious storms as waves of up to 50 feet high battered beaches and wreaked havoc for residents.
Quay: The flooded streets of Mevagissey in Cornwall where some of the largest waves in the world smashed into the West Country coast yesterday.
The devastation in Penzance: First Great Western Trains have also issued a severe weather notice warning customers that train services between Exeter St Davids and Penzance are suspended 'due to current weather conditions in the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall area'.
A mother and her son watch the rising waters at Portland.
Police received 400 calls about weather related incidents and 80 trees came down in Devon alone.
Residents were evacuated from 30 flooded houses in Kingsand, Cornwall and Tamar Coastguard Rescue Team helped to rescue 'a number of people', the coastguard said.
Meanwhile, there were further reports of flooding in Looe, where people were advised to stay away from the seafront amid fears of huge waves battering the coast.
There were also reports that the sea wall had collapsed in Dawlish, Devon, where two people had to be rescued having been trapped in a car.
Retired lawyer Anthony Rippon, 80, who was with his wife Christine forced leave their home in Burrowbridge, said: 'We have been very reluctant to leave our house because we did not want to leave everything behind.
'We've been visited by local people doing the rescue a number of times and they said this time that really we ought to go because they thought the river may overflow its banks and that would have a terrible affect on us.
'We decided to go because it was unfair to stay and for the people to have to come back and see us when conditions get much worse.'
The grandfather, whose home has so far escaped the flood water, added: 'For all we know the flood water may have arrived since we left - I hope not.
Horse racing brush jumps part submerged in water: Racehorse trainer, Carroll Gray's yard has been affected by the flooding on the Somerset Levels.
Raw: Here in Chesil Cove Dorset dishing boats were torn from their moorings on the sea wall and thrown upwards at the height of the storm.
Decay: A large section of Brighton's dilapidated West Pier has been washed away in the latest storm.
Nowhere to run; A flooded bungalow in Moorland, Somerset, where residents have been advised to evacuate their homes.
Evacuation: A man carries his friend to safety from his flooded home in Moorland, Somerset.
Swamped: The rising flood waters have made it appear as though there is more water in the bathroom than in the bath itself.
'Field of Hope' in Storm GloomMeanwhile a mixture of the Tube strike and the terrible weather meant millions were were hit by delays and disruption yesterday. Picket lines were mounted across the capital outside Tube stations, while the two sides in the dispute continued to argue over the ticket office closures.
A host of golden daffodils was brightening up the otherwise gloomy, damp winter days after flowering unseasonably early yesterday.
Despite the seemingly incessant rainfall, temperatures have remained above average, leading to spring flowers blooming ahead of time.
This patch, on a junction off the A3 near upmarket Esher, in Surrey, was already well on its way to a full bloom yesterday morning.
There are five main varieties of the popular plant, with February Gold being among the first to appear.
Daffodils are a common site nationwide from February to May, often planted on roadside verges and greens to create stunning golden carpets.
The Esher example has been named Marie Curie Cancer Care 'Field of Hope', raising awareness for the charity, whose emblem is a daffodil.
Politicians have condemned the industrial action, with Conservatives again calling for changes to employment laws covering the numbers voting for strikes in a ballot.
London's mayor Boris Johnson called the strike 'pointless' and urged the unions to call it off and return to talks. But Bob Crow and Manuel Cortes, leaders of the RMT and TSSA unions, accused the mayor of refusing to meet them to discuss the ticket office closures.
As the row raged, commuters and other passengers faced travel misery until services return to normal on Friday. Another 48-hour strike is planned from 9pm next Tuesday.
Business groups warned the strikes will cost London's economy tens of millions of pounds. Bob Crow described the industrial action as a 'rock solid' response.
'As we expected the action is rock solid this morning and has reduced the network to a skeleton service with only a few ghost trains running through closed stations,' he said.
'That is simply a reflection of the staff anger at attempts to bulldoze through cuts to jobs, services and safety which would reduce the Tube to a dangerous, hollowed-out shell'.
Fewer than a third of normal Tube trains were running during this morning's rush hour with 'overwhelming' support for the action from his members.
Mr Cortes said: 'All we have is a fringe service in the outer suburbs with virtually the whole of central London dependent on a skeleton service. Over 70% of the normal service is at a standstill.
'It is now time to end government by gimmick and for Boris to enter serious talks.
The incredible scene beneath the rails, where a 50ft section of ground supporting them has been completely washed away by the storm and closing the line for the foreseeable future.
'Londoners and the travelling public deserve better than this. We remain ready to talk immediately, any time, anywhere.'
Meanwhile train passengers were also having problems because of a return to the wet and windy weather which has devastated travel across the UK.
Southeastern trains said the forecast weather, after the wettest January for a century, presented a risk of further flooding, landslips and falling trees.
Network Rail has put in place a 40mph speed restriction across parts of the Southeastern network.
First Great Western Trains have also issued a severe weather notice warning customers that train services between Exeter St Davids and Penzance are suspended 'due to current weather conditions in the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall area'.
Force of nature: Waves undermine the main London to Cornwall rail line, used by thousands of travellers. The route may be out of action for months while it is repaired.
'We are unable to offer a train service west of Exeter St Davids towards Penzance due to further overnight severe weather conditions,' a spokesman said.
'We are working with Network Rail to evaluate the rail conditions in many areas.
'Some branch line services in Devon and Cornwall are starting to operate. We are unable to procure road transport as many of the roads have been affected by the weather conditions.
'We would strongly advise customers not to attempt to travel for the rest of today.'
Danger: The small coastal village of Port Melon near Mevagissey in Cornwall has been battered by storm force winds and mountainous seas in the early hours yesterday.
© Daily MailAcross the Irish Sea: Cork in southern Ireland is under water after the River Lee burst its banks overnight.
Slippery conditions: A risk-taker walks past a Penzance bridal store as a torrent of sea water rushes over their feet.
But this did not deter the many who wanted to photograph waves and damages caused by the dangerous conditions.
Last month during more violent storms several people were killed after being swept away or blown off cliff as they tried to close.
The majority of the deaths were in Devon or Cornwall.
David Colmer, Brixham Coastguard Watch Manager, said: 'As we have severe gale storm force winds, high tides and heavy rain, HM Coastguard is urging people to stay away from the coast.
'In this part of the country, conditions on the sea and along the coast are currently extremely treacherous.
'HM Coastguard's advice is simple: don't take risks by straying too close to cliff edges or breaking waves and please stay out of flood water. But if you do get into difficulty, or spot someone who might be in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.'
Large parts of Ireland were yesterday also hit with a second day of flooding with forecasters warning of more high winds and heavy rain.
Cork, Waterford, New Ross and parts of county Galway, Clare and Kerry were among the areas worst hit as Met Eireann said conditions show no signs of easing through the week.
An orange alert is in place until winds ease back later in the day but the risk of repeated flooding later in the week will be determined by the size of high tides and wind direction, forecasters said.
The bad weather continues hours after the Prince of Wales said the 'tragedy' on the flood-hit Somerset Levels is that 'nothing happened for so long'.
Prince Charles made the remarks as he met local farmers, flood victims and emergency services personnel who have been affected by the on-going disaster.
He pledged a £50,000 donation to support flood victims, with the Duke of Westminster matching the funding with an additional £50,000.
Charles' comments came amid growing anger over a perceived lack of Government action to help flood-hit areas on the Levels.
Residents have begged the Environment Agency to start dredging, with many complaining they are living in 'third world' conditions with 'overflowing' septic tanks.
Cameron Dismisses Choice Between 'Town and Country'Railway lines shut 50 years ago could be reopened in £100M plan to divert trains away from the destruction of Dawlish waves
Lord Smith, the embattled head of the Environment Agency, came under fire from David Cameron yesterday over his claim that flood defences could protect either towns or the countryside.
The Prime Minister dismissed the 'false choice' between helping rural or urban areas.
This week Lord Smith of Finsbury used a newspaper article to claim that Britain has to choose whether it wants to save 'town or country' from future flooding because it is too costly to defend both.
But Mr Cameron condemned the remarks, and insisted the agency had got things wrong.
He told MPs: 'There shouldn't be a false choice between protecting the town or protecting the people who live in the countryside'.
He also heavily criticised the agency's decision to stop dredging rivers in Somerset for 'far too long'.
He said: 'I believe it is time for the Environment Agency and the departments to work out a new approach that will make sure that something that did work, frankly, for decades and centuries is re-introduced again.'
A £100million plan to redirect train services in Devon and Cornwall could be revived after huge waves washed the line away.
The government revealed the army could be called in to help repair the track at Dawlish after huge waves demolished the sea wall on the south coast.
But Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today announced he has ordered a 'rigorous review' into alternatives, after the last Labour government rejected the need to reroute the line.
MPs demanded to know why £50billion is being spent on the HS2 line linking London to the north of England while services in the south west are at the mercy of the weather.
© Daily MailMinisters have ordered an urgent review into alternative rail routes which could include reopening the South Railway or the Teign Valley lines which closed 50 years ago.
The line, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and popular for its stunning view, could be out of action for months.
On the seafront huge granite blocks had been ripped out by the force of the crashing waves and gales and 20 homes had to be evacuated and people moved to a leisure centre.
Mr McLoughlin last night held urgent talks with Network Rail and MPs from Devon and Cornwall.
In the Commons today he revealed he has ordered a report into 'the whole question of the resilience of the South West'.
He told MPs: 'I am working with Network Rail to see that service is restored as quickly as possible but also to have a more rigorous review of some of the other alternatives which may be available.'
It raises the prospect of two lines closed half a century ago being reopened to carry trains away from the seafront. In 2006 Labour ministers ruled out the idea of re-routing
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