After years of watching golden sand being stripped away, an ambitious defence scheme has saved Hopton-on-Sea's beach from complete destruction.

It has taken five years and more than £10 million to shore up the fragile stretch of coast between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft but hard work and perseverance was declared worthwhile yesterday when the beach was officially 'reopened'.

Hopton has long been a popular holiday spot - it brings an estimated £10m into the Norfolk economy every year. But in 2008 locals, visitors and businesses began to notice the well-established beach disappearing more quickly. Some blamed the construction of a new Outer Harbour in Great Yarmouth, a claim which has repeatedly been denied.

At first Bourne Leisure, the owners of Haven's Hopton Holiday Village, carried out temporary emergency work to strength the cliff but in 2012 the wooden sea defences failed and beach access was lost.

It got worse in December 2013, when the storm surge caused havoc and caravans had to be moved away from the clifftop.

Last year, Bourne put forward its plans to construct nine new rock groynes to permanently protect the cliff and, they hoped, restore some of the beach. Work was completed in December, but it was no mean feat.

The operation involved 85,000 tonnes of Norwegian granite and teams of engineers battling wind and tides, often working in the middle of the night. The groynes are in a unique 'fish tail' design, projecting almost 60m out into the North Sea, and workers used state of the art computer modelling to place each rock exactly where it needed to be.

On Wednesday Bourne Leisure director Anton Bednarek declared the beach reopen at a ribbon cutting ceremony with Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader Cllr Trevor Wainwright and Hopton Holiday Village general manager Jonathan Stratford. Park staff, engineer Alastair Tindle, Hopton Coastal Action Group chairman Brian Hardisty also attended.

Mr Bednarek, who was heavily involved with the project, said it was probably the biggest private investment in coastal erosion defences in the UK - and certainly the biggest Bourne Leisure, which also operates Butlins and Warner Leisure, had undertaken.

'This massive undertaking not only protects Hopton Holiday village, but it guarantees the £10million annually that Hopton brings into the local area,' he said.

'We have received support from all quarters, including Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Hopton Parish Council, local residents and caravan owners and the whole team on the park.

'This challenge was enormous and the support was tremendous.'

Mr Stratford said: 'The future of the beach has now been resolved for generations to come, to be enjoyed by the local community, our holiday home owners and our holiday guests.'

Cllr Wainwright, who was given the job of cutting the ribbon on the newly repaired beach access, added: 'The scheme significantly reduces the risk of coastal erosion to Hopton Holiday Village which contributes significantly to the local economy, and to the homes further along the coast, as it extends the life of the existing sea wall.

'It will also enable the beach to gradually reform, which will benefit both visitors and residents.'