Dr Sophie Day, a University of East Anglia researcher working for Coastwise - a North Norfolk District Council project - said team members were having to go on sick leave because of the pressures.

"It is not only communities on the edge who sustain mental health impacts associated with coastal erosion," she said.

The academic made the comments as part of a submission to a government inquiry into coastal erosion in north Norfolk, Suffolk, Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight.

The eroding cliffs at Trimingham, where St John the Baptist church is located (Image: Mike Page)

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs inquiry is being held following a month of fierce storms, whose strong winds and high tides have caused beach to be washed away in places like Hemsby.

While the stress felt among affected villagers themselves is better understood, Dr Day said officials were being forced to take time off.

"Stress and anxiety affect local authority coastal management teams and others who are under-resourced to deal with the consequences of un-managed coastal erosion," she said.

"The current situation is completely unsustainable. I have observed colleagues having to take time off sick because of the cumulative........

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