Work is underway on putting up netting and fencing above the railway between Dawlish and Holcombe to protect it from falling debris.

The £34.7m project will see permanent stainless steel netting secured by soil nails installed on the cliffs.

It is expected to take until next spring to complete.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Our teams are hard at work on the cliffs between Dawlish and Holcombe as the latest phase of our railway resilience work gets underway in earnest.

"They are installing temporary grey matting for safety, which will be followed by coir matting and then permanent stainless steel netting, which is secured by soil nails.

"The work will help to prevent rocks falling from the cliff onto the railway, reducing disruption for passengers for years to come.

"While the cliffs may look bare to begin with, the vegetation will grow back over time; you can see this happening already at the Parson's Tunnel rockfall shelter."

What is the progress of other projects at the railway?

Dawlish's new £80m sea wall is now complete and open to the public.

A new accessible footbridge with lifts at Dawlish railway station is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

Work on a rockfall shelter north of Parson's Tunnel between Dawlish and Holcombe began in late 2021 and is due to be complete in autumn 2023.

SEE ALSO: Dawlish's MP attempts to secure at-risk rail protection funding