Scots scientists yesterday launched a bid to prevent the home of a famous British artist slipping into the North Sea after a series of landslides triggered by a winter of wind and rain.

Joan Eardley became a world-renowned seascape painter thanks to her stunning depictions of the rugged Aberdeenshire coast at Catterline, where she lived in later life.

But 50 years after her death, the artist's landmark home in the village, which has become a pilgrimage destination for art-lovers, is now perilously close to falling into the sea after a catalogue of landslides, which began in December.

Desperate to hold on to their heritage, the villagers of Catterline have recruited the help of scientists from Glasgow Caledonian University to study the steep cliffs and come up with a solution.

Alan Searle, a resident and member of the Catterline braes action group, said it would be a travesty to lose the former home of such a cultural icon.

He said: "Along the top of the braes where Joan Eardley's cottage is, there's been mass erosion recently. You can't even park your car outside it now and it's losing its front garden.

"The cottage is one of the beauties of living here and I think we all appreciate what we have, and it's something we'd like to think we could pass on to future generations.

"If you talk to anyone outside the village about Catterline, they'll know of it because they've heard of Joan. But it's not just her house, the erosion has affected the majority of the village.

"We've got to face up to the potential doomsday scenario, which is that it will eventually affect people's houses."

Alan added: "We want to understand what's going on and not just turn up with cap-in-hand looking for money."

Dr Slobodan Mickovski, of the School of Engineering and Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University, is leading the project at Catterline, using experience of preventing landslides at nearby Stonehaven.

He said: "We will be characterising the slope by looking at the soils, the vegetation and the climate.

"It's quite a precarious situation at the moment. The community live in a situation of constant risk.

"It's a big job, but after being involved in slope stabilisation in Stonehaven, I think we can help."