A LYME Regis couple whose garden is falling in to the sea have vowed to stay in their home - even if landslips cause it to move.

Dog warden Derek Hallett and his partner Susanne Whitemore say they won't be moved from their home on Church Cliff after parts of their garden began to shift on Saturday.

Derek said: "We're not moving out at any cost. We're staying here until the very end."

Derek said he and Susanne did not want to find themselves in the situation that other Lyme residents living on the Cobb had earlier in the year.

Seafront landslip victims found themselves facing financial ruin after being billed thousands of pounds by council chiefs for shoring up their worthless homes.

Owners of two properties on Marine Parade were forced to leave their homes and businesses last June after cracks appeared and were later billed £34,000 each by West Dorset District Council for costs.

After heavy rains last week, sections of a path at the edge of Derek and Susanne's garden have sunk as deep as 6ft and parts of earth have fallen over the cliff.

Susanne said: "It was quite scary - you could actually hear it all moving - all the brambles ripping apart."

Senior engineering geologist for West Dorset District Council, Geoff Davis, explained that the recent spell of wet weather had caused water levels in the cliff side to rise and de-stabilised part of Derek's garden as a result.

He said: "The bottom part of Derek's garden is directly above the sea wall, which is very steep compared with the main part of his garden. As a result of the recent heavy rain the steep bit has moved quite a bit." Mr Davis said there was nothing that could be done immediately about the garden.

He said: "It is such a big problem on such a wide scale - the only way to solve it is a big scheme."

Mr Davis, who is based at the Cobb, said that schemes were underway to resolve the problems of landslips in Lyme, but that they were going to take years to complete - Church Cliff might not be worked on until 2008.

Derek and Suzanne said they had spent a long time improving their garden after to moving in to the house eight years ago.

The pair were sure that their home - valued around a year ago at around £150,000 - would now be worthless.

 Lyme Regis was on landslip watch, level 1 throughout the week as the recent wet spell caused concern among council engineers. Townsfolk were asked to help monitor potential landslip problems and report and new cracks in structures and gardens to the district council as a matter of urgency.

Level 1 is the first and least dangerous of a three tier landslip warning system devised by the council. For further details or to report a landslip, contact 01297 445051 during office hours or 01305 250365 outside office hours.