Work to install netting and fencing on the cliffs between Dawlish and Holcombe to protect the railway from falling debris is due to start this week, Network Rail has announced.

The £34.7m project is expected to take until next spring to complete.

More than 6,000 soil nails and 19,700 square metres of stainless steel netting will reportedly be used.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Resilience work on the cliffs between Dawlish and Holcombe to help protect the railway for future generations is due to start later this week.

"We'll be installing a netting system designed to retain the cliffs in some high-risk locations, as well as catch fences, which will stop any cliff material before it reaches the railway.

"Most of the work will take place during the day but some activity can only be safely done on Saturday nights when trains aren't running.

"We are conscious of how special the red cliffs are for residents and visitors and we are working with Natural England on the areas that fall within the Dawlish Cliffs SSSI."

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