With breathtaking views over the North Sea, handsome Red House should be worth in the region of £2million.
But the fierce rate of coastal erosion in parts of Suffolk means it is now not only worthless but dangerous.
Demolition of the 1920s property in the village of Thorpeness began this week after heartbroken owners Richard Moore, 76, a director at Ipswich Town FC, and his wife Sheila, 73, were told by council officials it was unsafe to live in.
More than 50ft of their back garden has been swept away since summer 2021, leaving the redbrick house just 30ft away from a 35ft high sandy cliff.
Mr Moore and his wife, who have owned the property for 25 years and rented it out as luxury holiday accommodation, have not yet commented on the situation.
But a villager said: ‘They are going to be very upset that it has come to this. The Red House is a beautiful property and it is tragic that it is being knocked down.
‘They could have spent a fortune on making their own sea defences just as their neighbours have done – but you can’t hold back the forces of nature forever.’
An excavator has started razing the six-bedroom home, which had a hot tub with sea views in the garden.
TV producer Lucy Ansbro, 53, who lives next door, revealed she and her partner Matthew Graham spent ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ last October having 500 rocks, each weighing three tons, put at the base of the cliff to protect their home
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