The residents had trucked in approximately 14,000 tonnes of sand, hoping to safeguard up to 15 seaside homes. However, the protections proved short-lived, and the community now looks to the state for assistance in funding a more permanent solution.

In a Facebook post, the group said the artificial dunes had managed to prevent some homes from being “eaten up”. They said that “the sacrificial dunes did their job”, but it was a shock for it to happen just “three days after the project was finished”.

“The sacrificial dunes did their job,” the group said. “The shock was it happened three days after the project was finished.”

Tom Saab, the head of Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change, explained to the BBC the community has plead to the Massachusetts Governor, Maura Healey, and the state for help following a storm in December 2022. He said the group’s calls had been “refused”, pushing the community to fund their own solution.

He said “our little volunteer group from Salisbury pulled off a minor miracle”, as “a project of this magnitude should have been done by an engineering company or the state and federal government”.

The community is now considering other solutions and plans to install snow fencing in addition plant dune grass, to fortify the area. This is expected to cost a further $1.5 million (around £1.18m), but a funding source is yet to be found.