On the night of Thursday-Friday, 5-6th December, the highest tidal surge on the east coast for 60 years saw back gardens in Church Lane flooded and the A12 closed until Saturday afternoon.
The A12 at low tide on 6 December
Preliminary work to prevent flooding of the trunk road had just been completed. Roadside hedges had been cleared and temporary wattle fence panels erected on the downstream bank. These were to ensure that birds flying across the road were above the traffic to minimise the risk of potentially dangerous strikes. The purpose of the panels puzzled many passing drivers!
Wattle fence panels to force birds to fly high across the road