The area in Cayton Woods has been closed off to walkers and residents say the area is full of water causing the land to slip into the sea.

Gardener Martin Slater, of Staintondale, first noticed the activity in the woods last October.

He said: "I saw minor cracks and just kept an eye on them. However now it is much worse and is extremely dangerous.

"The land is just slipping away and trees are falling apart. Water is coming through the ground under the trees which has then loosened them.

"There are large cracks in the wood and I fear the whole area might just crumble.

"So now there are even more houses at risk. There are four or five bungalows above the woodlands which could be in danger. They are probably not at immediate risk but in a few months the situation might be a lot worse."

Oakleys Plant Ltd yesterday put up fencing around number 21 to prepare for its demolition. The property, owned by Kevin and Mary Lloyd, is expected to be torn down either tomorrow or Monday morning.

Mr and Mrs Lloyd are back at their home in Redcar. The couple were told last Friday that they must arrange for the demolition as soon as possible.

Mrs Lloyd said: "We are keeping away from the site as we don't want to see it torn down. However I am shocked to hear it has still not been demolished.

"We were told it must come down as quickly as possible. So we were given a quote from Oakleys and when we asked our insurance company for quotes from other firms we were told there was no time to wait for a reply. So we went ahead and gave the go ahead for it to happen.

"Now we are told it might be Monday before it comes down, it is just getting worse.

"I am not taking this very well. It is very hard to take in what has happened to our lovely holiday home."

Residents have been checking the cliff tops every morning to see if new cracks have appeared and yesterday more land was disappearing down the cliff.

They are now waiting to hear the results of water sample tests carried out by Halcrow Consulting Engineers, based in Birmingham.

l To view the latest video footage of the landslip including a look at the new cracks in the woodland area visit the Evening News website at www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk