PART of the beach at West Bay is set to be cordoned off from next week as a sewer buried beneath the sand is removed.

Natural coastal erosion at East Beach has begun to expose the remains of a Victoria brick sewer, along with other redundant infrastructure such as sheet piling and concrete debris.

Wessex Water will be carrying out works to to remove it, beginning on Monday, March 22.

The sewer does not currently pose any environmental or safety risk. Work is expected to take around four weeks and will involve Dorset County Council, the Jurassic Coast team, the Environment Agency along with other regulatory bodies to help minimise any ecological impact.

Outside of the immediate working area, the beach will remain accessible and a small section of the East Beach Car Park will be cordoned off for use as a site compound.

Wessex Water’s Christopher Tucker, who is coordinating the work, said: “West Bay is an important place both environmentally and as a place to be enjoyed by the public, particularly the local community.

“It is important to maintain the natural aesthetic of the beach while also ensuring that further erosion will not cause these redundant assets to become a hazard to beach-goers or wildlife.

“Our engineers will be using GPS technology to tag the locations of the infrastructure we need to remove. After excavation, we will ensure that the sand is replaced in a way that minimises any impact we’ve had.”

Wessex Water has been granted a Marine Management Organisation licence and permission to work at a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England.