A couple has been left scared of sleeping over fears the crumbling hillside next door could crush their home.
Ross and Jill Darbyshire said they heard a huge bang near the back of their property on January 28 at around 11pm.
The couple, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, also noticed cracks in the sheer slate bedrock.
They now worry hundreds of tonnes of rock could fall on their home in Rhewl, Denbighshire.
Small rocks frequently tumble down into the void after hitting their roof.
Mrs Darbyshire, 68, said sleeping is difficult due to their worries.
“Ross stayed awake one night listening to the ‘ping ping ping’ of the smaller stones coming down but the bigger ones – you really hear them thud,” she told the BBC.
After hearing a bang outside, Mrs Darbyshire said: “We sat up till about 2.30am just wondering whether it was safe to go back to bed.”
PICTURED: A falling rocks sign in a valley in the Cambrian Mountains towards Llanymawddwy, Wales. Ross and Jill Darbyshire are ‘too scared to sleep’ because of the hillside next door
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They believe a small earthquake in Gwynedd earlier that night was responsible.
A 0.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded by the British Geological Survey in Nantlle Valley, Gwynedd, on January 28.
Rumblings from the quake were reported as far as Llangollen, which the couple believe caused cracks in the bank near their home.
They also fear it’s only a matter of time before it moves again.
Mr Darbyshire, 75, said: “It’s not a question if it comes down – it’s coming down.”
The couple have been told the council cannot help them – as the issue is on their own land.
They bought the property 10 years ago and carried out major renovations to the 600-year-old former drover’s cottage.
The couple consulted local builders about trying to shore up the bank, but a less-than-two-foot-wide gap between the house and rock face has made repairs difficult.
Sharp pieces of slate which just out into the wall of the house were described as “like dragon’s teeth” by Mr Darbyshire.
Further heavy rain or a landslide are the couple’s main concerns.
Mr Darbyshire said: “The walls are the only thing stopping it going any further. After that it’ll just come right over and come through the roof.”
He had wanted to live in the area since cycling to Llangollen with friends from his home in Staffordshire.
When he saw the cottage for sale, he said it was “love at first sight”.
He now fears the couple will have to move – and said they were “lucky” to have another property abroad.
“I’ve accepted that we can’t live in this anymore but I don’t like it,” he said.
They added that the cottage was currently “unsellable” until the wall and an unstable former dam nearby are strengthened.
