Swept away: $500,000 sand dune built to protect US homes disappears in days

Property owners dumped 15,000 tons of sand in a Massachusetts town to fend off dangerous tides, but it was swept away in 72 hours

A sand dune that cost homeowners on a Massachusetts beach more than half a million dollars to construct has washed away after just three days.

An affluent group of beachfront property owners in Salisbury, Massachusetts – a coastal town 35 miles north of Boston – are mourning the loss of their investment after a safety measure they took to protect their homes failed.