CONTRACTORS working to repair Dawlish sea wall have asked walkers to ‘please be kind’ after staff received abuse.

Repairs are underway to the path between Coastguards and Langstone/Red Rock after the wall sustained damage during recent storms.

While the work is ongoing, the sea wall footpath has been out of action.

Warning notices were put in place but last week fencing was installed as there had been incidents where the signs had been ignored.

A spokesman for Network Rail’s South West Rail Resilience Programme explained: ‘Unfortunately, some walkers have been abusive to our team when they find the path is shut.

‘We are working to get it open as soon as we can, so please bear with us.’

Repair work gets underway today and is expected to last several weeks.

Residents living closest to the railway line have been contacted as the work may be noisy and contractors have apologised if there is any disturbance.

The spokesman added: ‘Please don’t attempt to climb the new green fences at either end of the closure or open the staff access gates.

‘They are in place to keep everyone safe while we fix issues like those shown in the photos below.

‘Next week, we plan to move the closure at the Warren end slightly further towards Dawlish, so that anyone on the beach there can get back up to the footpath if needs be.

‘Before we can do that, we need to put a barrier around the sinkhole at Buddy’s café.’

Meanwhile Sprey Point at Teignmouth will not be ready to open today as planned.

More work is needed on the new concrete surface.

It is hoped it will be open by Wednesday.

The main footpath alongside remains open.