THIS is the moment the seawall was breached in south Essex creating a new wildlife reserve.

The 30-hectare site at the London Gateway superport, off Wharf Road, in Stanford-le-Hope, has been created to provide a feeding area for birds flying south for the winter.

A new habitat has been established for adders, newts, grass snakes, lizards and water voles.

The seawall breach is the culmination of two years of preparation for DP World contractor, Carillion, to remove 300m of seawall.

The site was flooded for the first time earlier this week, creating intertidal mudflats, which are ideal feeding areas for avocets, dunlins, black-tailed godwits and many other species of birds.

A new flood defence wall has also been built around the land that has been flooded.

Simon Moore, chief executive of London Gateway, said: “This breach is an important milestone for us, as it allows us to complete the marine infrastructure required for the new port, which continues on schedule.”

Before the site construction work could begin, archaeologists were sent to check for any historical remains.

In 2009, as part of one of the UK’s largest archaeological digs, they uncovered Roman ruins including salt production houses dating back 2,000 years – and they are still on the site.

Steve Bewers, the Environment Agency’s project manager for London Gateway said: “The creation of these intertidal mudflats will ensure important feeding grounds for birds will continue to exist and not be lost through commercial development.”