In the early morning of Monday 10th March 2008 an extreme low pressure system tracked across the British Isles accompanied by strong winds and coinciding with the spring high tides. That morning locals noticed a small hole in the road that runs from Allonby to Silloth in Cumbria. By the next day the hole had grown larger. On the Wednesday more gale force winds and high tides battered the Solway coast. These further undermined the sea wall and washed out material behind the coastal defences.