DEFIANT residents stayed in their homes in Jaywick despite a severe risk they may be flooded.

About 230 people, and 50 dogs, spent Friday night at an emergency rest centre after the town was one of 17 put on severe flood alert along the east coast.

The facility, at Tendring Education Centre, Jaywick Lane, was a “multi-agency effort” and those receiving support were full of praise for all involved.

Jan, 64, and Bob Thicker, 66, of St Osyth Beach Holiday Park, had just one hour’s warning to leave the site.

The pair were evacuated from their caravan at about 9pm on Thursday.

Mrs Thicker said: “There have been lots of helpful volunteers who accommodated for us throughout the night with food, blankets, pillows and even toothbrushes.”

The 230 who made use of the centre were about 10 per cent of the residents from the more than 2,000 homes visited by the emergency services.

Many went to stay with family and friends, but many more decided to take the risk and stay at home.

Their homes were painted with crosses to alert the emergency services someone was inside.

Mr Betts, 67, said: “The authorities have spent millions of pounds in flood defences, so why all the panic?”

Staff in the post office at Beach Way opened their doors at 8.45am on Friday and stayed put.

Davina Griffiths, who has owned the post office with Monica Nichols for five years, said: “We are a proud community round here and always stick together.

“It was important to us to keep things going.”

Tracey Edwards, 51, said the police told her to try and get some sleep early evening, so she could be alert between midnight and 2am, on Saturday.

She decided to remain at home because her snakes and bearded dragons could not be moved to the rest centre.

Speaking before the second high tide, she said: “It is mostly the elderly that have gone, a few people have had family come and pick them up, but most people are staying in.”

Mother-of-two Danielle Hammond, 21, like many others, chose to monitor the situation from home and moved everything upstairs. She said: “I did it all three years ago and came home to a couple of puddles on the ground.”

Although she did admit if she saw the tide get too high, she was off.

Water reached about 3.5 metres at 12.37pm on Friday and 12.15am on Saturday however the defences were not breached, despite high winds at gale force seven increasing the risk.

The Colne Barrier recorded the tide at 3m 20cm at midday Friday. At the worst point, it had been expected to reach 3m 58cm.

The evacuation programme was supported by police, firefighters, the RNLI, coastguard, charity workers and volunteers, council workers and many other agencies.