It is a pleasant three-bedroom bungalow in a secluded setting with spectacular views over the North Sea.

In 1987, Jane Archer and her partner Chris Cutting paid £20,000 for the property. Today, it is worth rather less... £19,999 less, to be precise.

The reason for the dramatic depreciation is simple. Twenty years ago the house was about 500 yards from the sea. Now it is only 65 yards from the 80ft high cliffs at Happisburgh, Norfolk.

Jane Archer (above) and her partner Chris Cutting paid £20,000 for their home in 1987. Now it is valued at just £1

Miss Archer, 49, and Mr Cutting, 45, received the £1 valuation when they tried to use the bungalow as collateral for a £50,000 loan to buy new premises for their car repair business. 

They had assumed their home was worth around £80,000 but the loan was refused after a NatWest valuer decided it was virtually worthless due to 'chronic coastal erosion'.

Jane and Chris's house in Happisburgh, Norfolk is valued at £1 due to 'chronic coastal erosion'

Miss Archer, a mother of three, was among dozens of villagers who met Environment Minister Phil Woolas during a visit to the county yesterday to plead for compensation or more spending on sea defences.

'It is shocking that our family home is now worth less than a loaf of bread,' she said. 'If it was inland it would probably be worth £180,000.

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Bunga-low: The Happisburgh house in Norfolk that's under threat

'Our lives are being destroyed by the Government's policy to allow villages like ours to simply crumble into the sea.' The valuation has sent tremors around the community as other residents - many with properties even closer to the sea --realise their homes are effectively worthless.

Happisburgh has fallen victim to 'managed retreat', under which the Government is saving money by surrendering some areas to the sea.

The authorities have refused to spend millions replacing worn-out wooden groynes, and the village has lost more than 20 homes in recent years.

The shocking truth: Jane and Chris believed their three-bedroom bungalow was worth around £80,000

Mr Woolas said spending on flooding and coastal erosion was £650million in 2008-09 and would increase to £800million in 2010-11.

But he added: 'It is not financially or practically possible to defend the whole coastline.'