Coastal erosion demo will target PM

Protesters say they will highlight their concerns by demonstrating in a seaside town close to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's holiday home.

Mr Brown, his wife Sarah and sons John, four, and Fraser, two, are taking a break near Southwold, Suffolk, after leaving London on Saturday.

But local people say the choice is ironic because the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) may allow sections of the Suffolk coast to flood as part of long-term sea defence plans.

Protesters say they will stage a demonstration in Southwold and call for more Government money to be spent on sea defences.

They claim Defra is proposing to stop spending money on flood defences in the Blyth estuary, a move that could lead to beaches in the Southwold area being washed away.

Members of the Blyth Estuary Group say they will protest by forming a human chain on Southwold beach and urging Mr Brown to spend more on protecting the coast.

"Our whole coastline is under threat from the lack of funds for maintaining sea defences - and we need Gordon Brown's help," said group chairman Sue Allen.

"Here in Southwold we are working with the Environment Agency and Natural England and we're going to get the Blyth estuary river defences fixed. But there's a broader point to be made to Defra and Gordon Brown.

"Of course there are other demands on tax money - and the economic climate is tight - but what is more important than preserving our land and our way of life for future generations? This is our heritage. That's why it's called the Heritage Coast."