A seawall footpath has been closed off to the public following damage to beach huts.

Tendring District Council has started work on repairs at the Wailings in Frinton after the tidal surge last week.

The council needs to carry out structural surveys and possibly move some of the huts back onto their bearers or even dismantle them.

Efforts are being made to contact all the owners of the huts – some of whom may have already been down to the area.

The town’s beach hut association has also been notified of the situation.

The council is also helping to deal with the issue of damage to huts at Brightlingsea and in Walton.

A specialist firm is providing the council with structural advice on the huts at Frinton, which are slightly different as they are on stilts.

Leader of the council, Peter Halliday, said the authority is asking people to be patient while it does whatever it can to assist at various locations along the Tendring coastline.

“There has been extensive damage caused to many huts due to the high tide last week,” he said.

“We have put in place a number of measures to deal with this situation and help owners with some of the problems they are facing at this time.

“This work will be carried out as quickly as possible but due to the large number of huts affected it will take some time and we ask people to bear with us.”

The council says it is removing and disposing of any gas bottles it finds because it is not possible to verify their safety once they have been under water.

It has also asked that beach hut owners get in touch if their hut is beyond repair, because the council needs written permission before it can remove them.

If huts can be repaired, but require moving back, the district council will co-ordinate and organise for this work to be carried out at the owners’ expense.

“The council is committed to assisting beach hut owners with the reinstatement of affected areas as soon as possible,” added Mr Halliday.