A PENSIONER whose house is teetering on the edge of a cliff has refused to leave.
George Gardiner moved to the detached property and planned to run it as a tea room with his late wife.
But the cuppa cabin – behind the house – "disappeared over the edge" of the 300ft cliff around 12 years ago before he even moved in.
But despite burst pipes loosening the clay ground, collapsing his garden bit by bit into the English Channel on the Isle of Wight everyday – he isn't going anywhere.
George, from Luccombe on the island, told the BBC: "I've got the fence to support me if I need to hang on… I manage.
"It'll be alright."
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The 82-year-old had plans to run the tea room with his wife who tragically died a number of years ago, but by the time they moved in, it was in the sea.
And he is adamant he must not leave his cherished home, filled with family memories.
But more and more cracks have since appeared throughout his garden as leaks have continued from mains and surface water has wreaked havoc.
The torrents have sunk his plot an astonishing 5ft and forces him to use a ladder just to get into it.
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But despite local authorities offering to accommodate George, he has vowed to stay.
Two locals, a married couple in their 70s who wished not to be named, say drainage pipes should be placed in the ground before it is too late.
The retired woman said: "Several houses completely crumbled and were lost in the 1990s. The local council put in drainage which helped a lot.
"If I were George I would be very worried. I wouldn't want to live there."
Her husband noted a terrifying 2ft deep, 150 yard-wide ditch that has opened up above George's home, filling with water when it rains and runs down to his house.
He added: "There was a two month period of rain last year and I saw a six inch drop each day in his garden.
"It's obviously lots of water loosening the soft soil and causing a slip."
"I do worry about George. He's an old man and he needs to walk down this awful bumpy path and climb a ladder."
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