Local residents have refused to leave their homes and want to stay in their village despite it disappearing into the sea.

Maureen Dunn lives in Tunstall, part of Holdnerness in East Yorkshire. It's one of the fastest crumbling coastlines in Europe, leaving entire villages at risk of falling into the sea.

Bordered by the sea, Tunstall is nestled in the quaint English countryside and it's cobbled houses and neat hedgerows make a scene for a picture perfect postcard.

But persistent coastal erosion has already claimed parts of the village and it faces the threat of vanishing as the cliffs here are made of soft sediment and are eroding at a rate of one and two metres every year.

Over the centuries, farmland, buildings and even roads have succumbed to the sea, with recent years seeing villagers losing their homes.

Maureen Dunn is one of these people. Now a widow, the 84-year-old moved to Tunstall with her husband and young children more than 50 years ago.

She lived in the Coastguard's House, a three bedroomed bungalow and there was originally four acres of field between their home and sea.

Over time, this reduced to less than 30ft and her family home had to be demolished four years ago before it was taken by the waves.

As part of its Rollback scheme, East Riding Council offers people living in Holderness the chance to relocate their properties away from the coastline, but the authority does not give funding to help people buy land or build new property.

Deciding to remain in the village she cherishes, Maureen paid for a new property built on agricultural land in the style of a lodge that is a little more inland, but still close to the coast.

Her son and daughter felt the same attachment to Tunstall and live in separate homes close by to her on the same plot, known as Coastguard Cottages.

Speaking to GB News, Maureen told of why her family wanted to remain down Seaside Lane where the road and cliff edge are one in the same, in a village that faces the threat of being "wiped off the map".

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"It’s heartbreaking that the cliffs are eroding so fast and that the village could eventually be wiped off the map, but that won't be for years to come yet, maybe even a hundred years," she said.

"But there was no way that I was leaving here after our first house had to be demolished, I love it here, I don't want to move.

"I've said to my family that that the only time that I'll be moving out of here is if I'm in a box.

"I've been here more than 50 years now and the sea has got a lot closer. We used to be able to walk down to the beach, now the road has literally disappeared and stops at the cliff edge.

"It is a worry but the village won't be lost until long after my time. If it goes it goes, but this house will last me out."

Maureen and her husband moved to Tunstall in the 1970s from Hull, and even though it is only 15 miles away, she has never returned to the city. With the small population of Tunstall only having a village hall and All Saints Church, there are no nearby amenities so she travels to nearby Withernsea to get to the shops.

Part of Holderness, Withernsea has also suffered from coastal erosion. The seaside town has seen holiday caravans abandoned due to retreating cliffs.

Further up the coast, Skipsea has been one of the hardest hit, losing around 1.4m of cliff every year since 1989.

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But Maureen says the charm of the Holderness coast and its people is the glue that holds the community together, even if its cliffs are crumbling.

"It's really unique living here," she said. "I live alone with my budgie for company and other than seeing my children and grandkids, I don't see much of anyone and that's the way I like it.

"I like keeping myself to myself and don't really go into the village, I'm happy enough staying here with the sea and open land, I don't need anything else.

"I just take things as they come and for me there could be no better place to live - I can open my patio doors and breathe in the fresh sea air and have the grandchildren running about and playing. It's something special."

With Sand Le Mere holiday park just down the road, and overlooking Tunstall beach, the area is also beloved by holiday makers.

But in 2018 the road between the holiday park and Tunstall was cut in half by a 2018 cliff collapse.

Visitors staying in the static caravans there have access to the leisure complex, including an indoor pool, restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue.

Maureen added: "It's not just us villagers that love it here - there's the holiday park that's always busy, so you can see how popular it is that people want to visit, but we get the privilege of living here."

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Secretary and Treasurer of Tunstall Village Hall, Christine Midgley, 66, shares Maureen's fondness for the village.

Christine lives on Main Street in the centre of the village, much further away from the cliff edge than Maureen's home.

Christine moved to Tunstall 18 years ago from Surrey with her now late husband to retire and she has never looked back.

"The village is just so quaint and it's got so much character - it's a conservation area and it's surrounded by farmland and very agricultural," she said.

"People come for the peace and quiet - it's nice to be so close to the sea and there's no street lighting so on an evening you can see the stars and it's beautiful.

"It’s a really good community, everyone looks out for everyone - if anyone needs something, there’s someone in the village that can help.

"We've got the church and the village hall where we host events and we've got a hog roast coming up soon.

"It's such a close community - now that I'm a widow, I feel comfortable and safe, and I know everyone's name in the village.

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"It does help that I'm the secretary and treasurer of the village hall, but there's not many places where there's so much camaraderie and where you can say you know everyone by name in the village.

"You could quite literally knock on a neighbour's door if you needed something like flour or milk, or just a helping hand, and people would help you."

Christine is not worried for the future of the village and says properties are still being bought and sold regardless of it being encircled by the often-tempestuous North Sea.

"I'm not concerned by the coastal erosion - I'm 66 and I think there's at least another 100 years left for the village," she said.

"There's a bungalow nearby that's just been sold, so it doesn't affect property prices as far as I know and if houses are being bought and sold then people are still able to get mortgages. Maybe in another 20 years it might be a different scenario, but for now it's fine.

"The biggest issue we have is fighting applications for caravan parks - it's an area people want to come to on holiday but we need to keep it protected as a conservation area."

It is estimated £600million worth of buildings will fall into the sea by the end of this century, with properties in Holderness being some of the first to be washed away.