IT’S one of the most striking features of Winterton and it played a vital part in saving lives at sea.

Now the lighthouse, which used to send light 17 miles out over the water as a warning to mariners, has become a holiday home offering up to nine guests panoramic views of the countryside and seascape.

The beam has long been extinguished, but the lighthouse has remained, adding to the history and charm of the village.

A private home for many years, it has been restored. Now the lighthouse keeper’s equipment room houses a library and bedroom while at the top of the tower there is a sleeping platform with 360 degree views.

It also has a garden designed by Royal Horticultural Society gold medallist Christopher Moss.

The fact that many of the oldest cottages in the village were constructed using timber from shipwrecks indicates just how treacherous the seas and shifting sands can be and why a lighthouse was needed in the first place. Villagers were not just experienced in rescuing unfortunates from a watery grave, they were adept at harvesting cargoes and making use of them.

It is actually the third lighthouse to be built on the site. The first, constructed in the early 1600s was destroyed in a fire. The second, built in 1687 and mentioned in Daniel Defoe’s famous novel Robinson Crusoe, was privately owned until bought in the 1830s by Trinity House who knocked it down and put up the present building.

When the First World War broke out it was used as a lookout post, But in 1921 Trinity House decided it was surplus to requirements. The light was shuttered for the last time and the top of the tower was apparently taken away to the Star Hotel in Great Yarmouth. The building became a holiday home, but it was part of the area’s coastal defences during the Second World War when it was used as a lookout once more.