A beloved piece of driftwood nicknamed “Lizzy the logness monster” has been swept out to sea after stormy weather hit a popular seaside town.

While it may not be more than a sizeable log to some, Lizzy endeared herself to people in Porthcawl, Bridgend county, after washing up in March 2024.

Lizzy’s fate has seen many fears realised for locals, as a campaign was launched to save the resort’s informal mascot in September 2024 amid worries it could be swept back out from its seafront perch.

Hundreds of fans have spoken out online to share their disappointment at the sudden departure, with some describing Lizzy as an “icon” which they are “gutted” to see go.

“While it may sound silly to some, as it’s a piece of driftwood, it has captured the imagination of the town,” said Steve West, 66, from Porthcawl, who went down to the seafront to see the remains of Lizzy washed up on the shore.

“It’s very sad and it will be very strange without Lizzy,” he added.

“The kids love it, they love taking photos with it. It has given a lot of people a lot of smiles in the 18 months it has been here.

“What is the chance of it landing on the seafront in that way and looking like a lizard, it’s strange coincidinces.”

Lizzy survived several great storms over the past 21 months, including Storm Bert and Storm Darragh, but Steve said the high tide on Saturday morning was particularly bad.

“There was always the possibility it would happen at some stage,” he said, adding: “It was good while it lasted.”

Responding to suggestions Lizzy should have been preserved in the town somehow, Steve said, despite how loved Lizzy was, it was “not practical”.

But he said Lizzy “had become a larger than life character in the town” and really left her mark.

Chris Kitney, 39, who was there to witness Lizzy set up her home on the sand, described it as being a “big part” of the community.

He lives along the beachfront in Porthcawl and said he was used to seeing Lizzy every morning, but realised she had swept away first thing on Saturday.

“People were constantly coming to visit Lizzy and having photos with her,” he said.

“There are about 1,000 signatures from people who have signed where they are from and when they visited.”

Chris added there were thousands of coins wedged in the sides of Lizzy too, and she had swelled up with water after every high tide.

Lizzy adopted goggly eyes not long after her arrival, and Chris has long suspected his friends to be responsible for her animated appearance.

“They would never admit it, but it was them,” he laughed.

As well as having a makeover, the special lizard log also adorned a Santa hat for Christmas and a flower necklace for the town’s Elvis Festival.

All is not lost, as Chris said he “would put money on Lizzy being swept back up on the shore”.

As it stands, Lizzy appears to have broken up into pieces in the water, so she does not retain her reptile resemblance.

“It was nice to see it, I will miss seeing it,” he said, adding it “brought a lot to the town”.

Lizzy was 9.38m (30ft 9in) long and 2.46m (8ft 1in) tall, according to the local tourism office, Visit Porthcawl.

Sharing footage of Lizzy’s dramatic drift, Porthcawl RNLI said “this time this is not an April fools joke”.

“During stormy weather please stay back from large breaking waves and avoid cliffs, sea walls and piers,” it warned.

Safety officer Ian Cole added: “Big waves can easily sweep you off your feet and out to sea like they have done to a huge log like Lizzy.”