A former soldier, Lance Martin, saved his home from being demolished as it was teetering on the edge of a crumbling cliff top. His home in Hemsby, Norfolk had lost land to coastal erosion, leaving it just 3 feet from a 50 foot drop. After previous attempts to move the home failed, Martin gathered helpers on the day the council was set to demolish it. They discovered a concrete plinth holding the home and used diggers to drag the home 10 feet back from the cliff edge, saving it just before the demolition deadline. Martin was grateful for the community effort that saved his home.

1. The man who
dragged his
home from the
brink
MONDAY
Politics
FRIDAY
Culture
THURSDAY
Science
WEDNESDAY
Sport
TUESDAY
Build the Change
Is humanity facing a new
flood? Rising seas have eaten
into the cliffs and land around
the coast, causing one ex-
soldier to take extreme steps to
save his home. Saved: Lance Martin’s bungalow was hours away from being knocked down for being unsafe.
TODAY’S BIG STORY
NEWS DETECTIVES
YOU DECIDE
Are we facing a new flood?
YES. Not only is the sea rising, it is also our
fault. We may face a biblical disaster.
NO. We will be able to build sea defences and
save most of our glorious coasts.
Bungalow: A house with
one floor
Epic: Huge or powerful
Nibble: Eat small pieces
Council: Local government
Plinth: A stand or support
Authorities: People in
charge
Erosion: The sea
wearing down the land
Condemned: Declared
unsafe to live in
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ance Martin’s home was literally
on a cliff edge.
It was not there when he
bought his bungalow in 2017. Back then,
there were 36 metres between him and
the sea. Then, in 2018, the ”beast from the
east” came.
The epic storm washed 27 metres of
his cliff, in Hemsby, Norfolk, into the sea.
Rising tides continued to nibble at what
remained. Soon there was only one metre
left.
The local council told him that his
home was unsafe, and they would have to
demolish it. In a last-ditch effort, Lance
gathered a team of helpers from the local
community.
Together, and with the help of a
13-tonne digger, they were able to drag
his house back from the brink.
At first, it seemed that nothing was
going to work. The house wouldn’t
budge. Then they lifted a corner up and
found a concrete plinth that was holding
the house in place.
Once that was gone, it was a race
against time. They chained the house to
a pole and moved it just as the council
was arriving to serve him notice of
demolition.
In the UK, authorities fear that rising
tides will see more houses like Lance’s
lost to flooding and erosion. The entire
village of Fairborne in Wales, has already
been condemned.
In Bangladesh, four million people
were displaced by flooding last year.
Lance thanked everyone who pitched
in to save his house, saying “The whole
community has helped with this. It is a
miracle.”
THE STORY SO FAR
Coastalerosionhasalwayshappened,but
thepacehasincreasedinrecentyearsdue
toclimatechange.IntheUK,21villages
havebeenidentifiedasatriskoffalling
intothesea.
L
Tuesday 11 April 2023. Delivered weekdays at 6:30am London time. No preparation. Print friendly.

2. Step 1: Think about your design!
What kind of things would it
float on? Would it be a house
that moves? How would it keep
everyone inside dry?
Step 2: Create your design! Draw
your house! If you have time, you
could make a real-life version
out of LEGO® bricks or bits of
recycling.
Rising sea levels mean floods will be a fact of life. In that case, your
challenge is to design a floating house.
THE DETECTIVE ZONE
SPOT THE FAKE
One of these three news stories is fake.
Which one?
Flooded town becomes site of kayak tournament
Flood preparedness event rained off
German TV host sorry for faking mud during flood
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For any feedback or help please contact newsdetectives@theday.co.uk. Thank you.
Amaze someone
Tuesday 11 April 2023. Delivered weekdays at 6:30am London time. No preparation. Print friendly.
Talking point
Should leaders
spend money saving
people’s homes from
flooding? Or would
it better to let the sea
take control?
Legend says that the
Scilly Isles in Cornwall
were connected to the
mainland until the
great flood of 1099,
the largest in British
history.
Since mediaeval
times, the low-lying
Netherlands has kept
floods at bay with a
system of walls called
dikes that keep out the
sea.
Did you know?
Floods are the most frequent type
of natural disaster on the planet.
In the United States, flooding
causes more death and damage
than tornadoes, hurricanes, or
lightning.
Upload a photo of your
work to the Build the
Change gallery by scanning
the QR code and have your
work displayed to inspire
real-world change.
Show your work to your class!
Share your genius

3. needed,” the delighted pensioner told
reporters.
“Now we’ve shown it can be moved, we
can make proper arrangements to put the
house across the road once we’ve cleared
the site, which will hopefully give me the
time I need.”
He added: “These guys have been
terrific and I’m so grateful to them and
to the Pines for their help, as well as the
local lifeboat crew who brought us the
telegraph poles. The whole community
has helped with this.”
Lance said he was determined to carry
on living in his house with its panoramic
views of the North Sea which he likened
this week to “the world’s best infinity
pool”.
Answer to the spot the
fake
Flooded town becomes site of
kayak tournament
Read more on this topic
Between Sea and Sky
by Nicola Penfold
Little Tiger
This is an edited version of a story from
© Metro [17/03/2023]
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THE EXTRA PAGE
Truckers by Terry
Pratchett
HarperCollins
former soldier whose home
was teetering on the edge of a
crumbling cliff top has saved
it from demolition — by dragging the
whole building 10ft back from the abyss.
Lance Martin’s bungalow was on the
verge of being knocked down after a spate
of high tides and gale force winds had left
him just 3ft away from a 50ft drop.
The former Grenadier Guard lives in
the seaside town of Hemsby, Norfolk,
which has been battered by severe coastal
erosion in recent weeks, forcing residents
to evacuate their cliffside homes.
Previous attempts to move Mr Martin’s
house had been unsuccessful, and he was
issued a “high noon” deadline by Great
Yarmouth Borough Council who said his
home would be demolished if he failed
to make significant progress by 12pm
the next day. Lance refused to give up,
and gathered a rag-tag army of friends,
neighbours and contractors to help him
pull his house back from the brink.
After toiling all day and failing to
move the teetering bungalow even an
inch away from the cliff, nobody was
feeling very optimistic.
But a key breakthrough was made
after the team discovered that a concrete
plinth under part of the house was
impeding movement.
After getting a digger to lift up a
corner of the house, splintering its
wooden frame in the process, the team
were eventually able to break up and
remove the obstruction by hand.
They then chained the bungalow to a
telegraph pole and used a thick canvas
strap to attach it to the 13-tonne digger.
Cheered on by a group of watching
villagers, the two diggers finally managed
to force the house free from its concrete
foundations and drag it three metres
away from the cliff edge to safety at
around 12.30pm — just as the council
official arrived to serve Lance his papers.
Upon witnessing his triumph, Lance,
65, threw his hands in the air and said:
“The impossible has been done… It’s just
a miracle.”
“It’s given us the breathing space we
A
Ex-soldier
saves house
from sea
Moving home: Lance Martin needed a digger to pry his house away from the cliff.
This week’s challenge is part of the LEGO® Build the Change
programme. It can be done at school or as homework, and parents
can help upload photos of pupils’ work to the online gallery.
Visit the gallery at
https://bit.ly/btcgallery and feel free
to use it as discussion point in class.
Tuesday 11 April 2023. Delivered weekdays at 6:30am London time. No preparation. Print friendly.