COASTAL engineers expected high tides to remove some of the thousands of tonnes of sand and shingle placed on Felixstowe’s shore to bolster beaches.

Stormy seas have swept away a section of the new beach – created as part of the resort’s new �10million sea defences – leaving a steep slope and a shelf with a two foot drop.

Hut owners have been shocked by the erosion, and had believed tides would in future not come up so high.

Andy Smith, cabinet member responsible for sea defences at Suffolk Coastal, said the erosion had been expected and a similar situation had happened when the rock groyne defences were built south of the pier.

At the previous scheme, the erosion had been even more dramatic.

He was confident shore levels around the Spa Pavilion would change again in the coming months – and would be likely to improve.

“We have to wait and see what happens, but if the beach huts are threatened we would take action,” said Mr Smith.

“Beaches are always moving – they are never static, and they go up and down, sometimes on almost every tide.

“Time is a great healer and I am sure the levels will improve and over time the beach will find its own natural level.”

Coastal engineers are hoping the beach will not need re-grading because that could mean moving some of the huts.

The new defences include a series of granite groynes, with 78,000 cubic metres of sand and shingle pumped ashore to replenish the beaches and give a good start to the scheme, which is designed to protect more than 1,500 homes, businesses, attractions and the seafront gardens for the next 100 years.

Work is still continuing at Cobbold’s Point and should be complete by August.