'AN absolute nightmare,' were the words used by a county councillor to describe the situation at Looe, as the town found itself almost cut off for a period at the weekend, due to two major incidents caused by the severe weather.

A huge landslide crashed down on to Hannafore Road, cutting off all vehicular access to and from Hannafore, from Saturday morning right through to mid-Sunday afternoon. Also on Saturday at about 5.30pm, a large fir tree fell across Station Road opposite the police station in East Looe. Traffic was unable to use the road for almost four hours while a tree surgeon and Cormac staff worked to clear it away.

At this point, the only way into Looe was via the Pelynt Road, and locals trying to get in and out of the town were directed to the narrow Barbican Hill which became gridlocked.

'I have spent all my life in Looe, and I have never seen conditions as bad as this from the weather,' said cllr Armand Toms. 'It was an absolute nightmare. Things were changing by the hour and it got to the point where I was asking myself what was going to happen next. This is a key part of the year and Looe is having it tough.'

The landslide in Hannafore Road brought up to 50 tonnes of soil, stone and vegetation down from the cliff-face below the property known as The Roundhouse, marooning the occupants, many of them elderly, of up to 200 homes, hotels and guesthouses at Hannafore.

A Cormac gang and volunteers, directed by geotechnical engineers from Cornwall Council, worked for hours to clear away the debris. There were also concerns about the stability of a retaining wall and a small spring was diverted away from the area. As a priority, a gap was opened up through the landslip for emergency vehicle access only.

At the Hannafore Point Hotel, front of house manager Jude Franland said that two-thirds of their trade was lost on the Saturday night, when 74 people were booked in for a festive meal and disco.

'Our phone didn't stop ringing and we were calling everyone to explain the situation,' she said. 'A lot of our customers said they would walk up to us via the walk along the harbour, but when the fir tree came down as well that was it and our numbers dropped to 36. We also called three lots of people who were booked in for a Christmas package and put them off as we didn't want them to travel down.'

Cllr Toms said the landslide had worryingly shown up the vulnerability of the people living at Hannafore with only one road leading in and out. 

'Every time there is a collapse, the people in Hannafore will be stranded,' he said. 'The time has come to look at an alternative route to Hannafore, either via Portloe or across from the Tencreek turning, but we would be looking at a £25m-plus project.'

Cllr Toms and cllr Edwina Hannaford paid tribute to the council workers and volunteers. 'Everyone pulled together,' they said.