THERE were structural problems with some homes in Teignmouth in 1977.

A widow was evacuated from her property after it began to split in two.

Engineers declared the house in Bitton Park Road unsafe, and ordered Phyllis Mitchell not to open her small wool shop in the front of the building.

The damage was blamed on works that had been carried out alongside the house to instal a large flood culvert and drain. Two houses in the terrace on one side of her property were demolished to make way for the pipes, and people living in the area said they always feared their properties would suffer.

The two homes on either side of the gap were shored up with wood and scaffolding, and Mrs Mitchell noticed that something was wrong when she could not close her back door properly. Cracks and bulges started appearing, and a large split then appeared in the back wall, almost from top to bottom.

A structural engineer was called in, and after consultations with Teignbridge council, officials decided to move Mrs Mitchell out as the house was in a dangerous condition.

She was staying in a nearby guest house, and her son had to move to an Exeter hotel near his work.

Mrs Mitchell said: ‘I knew all along this might happen, especially when they demolished next door. I was told these houses are like a pack of cards - when you knock one down they all could go.

‘Now neighbours are wondering if the cracks are going to spread to their properties, and if they will have to move out as well.

‘It is all very inconvenient having to move out like this, and I am extremely annoyed about having to close the shop because I have kept it open and given a service in the past, even when I had flu.

‘I have put wool back for customers,and when they find you are closed like this they soon drift away and may go elsewhere.

‘Right from the start we said this sort of thing could happen.

‘We even presented a petition with 300 names asking for the scheme not to be started, but Teignbridge ignored us and approved the project.

‘The experts said we were perfectly safe and nothing could happen to us, but now they have been proved wrong.

‘I do not think there was any need for such a major scheme. The flooding would have been prevented if they had kept the brook that runs down the Coombe Valley clear of debris.

‘I believe Teignbridge wanted to improve the drainage so that more houses could be built up the valley.’

The culvert to alleviate flooding in the area from the Bitton Brook had already been installed under the rugby ground, and work was due to start soon on crossing the main road and along First Avenue.

District and town councillor Bill Tibbs also fought against the scheme, which he predicted would eventually cost about £250,000. He also had doubts about how effective it would be.

He predicted there would probably be further problems in Bitton Park Road and First Avenue because they were built on marshland.

Alan Ball, the Teignbridge technical services officer, said the ground underneath the foundations of the house was weaker than than expected and subsided because of excavations for a foul sewer near the property. It was the responsibility of the contractors.

Alternative accommodation had been arranged for Mrs Mitchell,and he would be recommending that other shop premises be found for her.

Families from three flats in another property in Teignmouth also had to be evacuated because of subsidence. An outside wall of a house in BarnparkTerrace began bulging and was shored up with scaffolding.

The house was declared unsafe and everybody immediately moved out and found temporary accommodation.