Residents of a picturesque Devon village hit by brutal storm conditions have said they were “praying for it to stop” as homes suffered damage and a vital road has been rendered impassable.

Homes along the beachfront in Torcross were smashed by waves and pelted by debris flung up by the storm waters, damaging doors, windows, balconies and even roofs.

The A379 road that runs through Torcross, connecting villages to the west such as Stokenham and Chillington with those north along the coastal road such as Strete, Stoke Fleming and Dartmouth, has been temporarily closed.

The road has been covered with tonnes of shingle, but more concerningly its integrity has been impacted by the storm.

Bonni Lincoln, a resident of Torcross who lives with her mother and step-father, said hunkering down during the storm was “the most terrified I have ever been”.

“The water was hitting the windows inside the shutters and then the shutters came off,” she said.

“We were huddled together praying for it to stop. We had about an hour’s sleep and then we battened the property down again.”

Ms Lincoln said the community had pulled together, with residents helping her to reattach protective defences to her house.

She added that affected residents had been invited into the nearby apartment building by neighbours, a building which was better withstanding the storm conditions.

Ms Lincoln’s step-father, Graham Simmons, said he and his family had lived in Torcross since 2007 but had only moved into their current property a few months ago.

He said damage to the property was “not as bad as some”, but acknowledged there had been “water ingress”, which had brought mud into the property and led to some other damage.

Resident Julie Starr, who said she and husband Stephen had lived in Torcross for about three and a half years in a property on the other side of Slapton Ley, meaning they are not right by the beach.

“But we could see the waves coming over the top of the houses,” she said.

“Stones and rocks were being flung by the water so you couldn’t anywhere near the houses closest to the beach. We had a clear view right through the night as you could see the spray over the top of the houses.

“It was very frightening.”

Ms Starr said residents were offered shelter in nearby properties, noting that “we have a very good community”.

In terms of the A379 road, often referred to as the Slapton Line, Ms Starr said it was a “lifeline”.

“People use it to go shopping, to commute, to get the doctor or dentist, it’s vital,” she said.

Highways officials said early analysis suggests the surface of the road is intact, but in many places the road has been undermined, meaning that the ground underneath the road has been swept away meaning that it would be unsafe for vehicles to drive on.

Some more obvious damage nearer to the village of Torcross has seen metal piling and concrete capping wrenched away from the tarmac, again making the road more dangerous.

Efforts are underway to clear the road and reopen it, but it’s unclear exactly when that will happen and whether one-way traffic will be enforced temporarily on all or part of the road.

Councillor Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge), the leader of Devon County Council, visited the road today (Monday January 26).

“There’s been a lot of damage to properties in Torcross, with masses of debris flung into the village and onto the A379,” he said.

“The road won’t be passable for some time, as it has been undermined in places and so it will have to be shored up before we let two-way traffic use it again.”

Cllr Brazil said he would be contacting local MP, Caroline Voaden, who had visited the site at the weekend, to ask her to push for financial support to help repair the damaged road.

We would like to thank Chris Honour, owner of Amped Electrical Services, for providing the drone footage of storm damage in Torcross.