Low-carbon concrete is being used to reinforce the new sea wall on Dawlish seafront, Network Rail has said.

The new sea wall is being built after a storm in 2014 brought down the old wall and damaged the railway line.

Since cement requires a huge amount of energy to make, traditional concrete accounts for as much as seven per cent of global carbon emissions.

Low-carbon concrete however uses a by-product from steel manufacturing to replace much of the cement in the mixture.

In the Dawlish project, the amount of carbon produced is just a third of what it would have been if traditional concrete had been used.

The construction of the second section of the sea well is in progress, and 126 of the 143 concrete wall panels have now been put in. The remaining panels will be done by the end of the month, and then some 'curved wave returns' will be fitted on top.

It's projected that the second section, from Coastguard breakwater east of Dawlish station to Colonnade breakwater, will take around two years to finish.

Julie Gregory, Network Rail senior sponsor, said: "The nature of our changing climate means that the South Devon coast is increasingly subject to powerful storms. To protect the railway at Dawlish we need to build a robust sea wall that can withstand the worst weather that the English Channel can throw at it."

For more information and to follow the latest developments of the construction of the new sea wall at Dawlish, click here.