A LANDSLIDE caused in the wake of Storm Dennis has raised the concerns of Penallt residents.

A section of the old railway line - around 600m south of the Boat Inn - which many people use to walk along the Wye Valley near Penallt has had to be closed for fears of public safety. The storm brought down a section of the embankment which has blocked off the track, but residents fear that the worst is yet to come.

The embankment has remained secure for the last 150 years until the recent flooding damaged it. It is feared that more damage could occur in the future and that the embankment could collapse at any moment. The track is a national footpath, the Wye Valley Walk. Storm Dennis has left the adjacent bank, which contains several hundred tonnes of trees rocks and soil, peeling away from the shelf of land which a number of buildings are built on.

An engineer’s report has been commissioned by the owners of that part of the track after a local contractor inspected the site on Saturday, March 7. His initial thoughts were that the area involved in the landslip might need stabilisation with gabions to a height of at least 5-10m.

Nearby resident and Catherine Payne said: "Science tells us global heating is causing an increase in severe storms. This means more severe flooding, as we experienced in February with Storm Dennis."

Near to the land slip, a bridge from further upstream had become dislodged and washed up on the riverbank.