Hikers ignore warnings to steer clear of cliff collapse
AN UNSTABLE cliff collapsed on to a beach in Dorset just a few yards from people taking a stroll.
The rockfall at West Bay near Bridport on Good Friday sent a large section of the cliff cascading into the English Channel.
The council subsequently closed the South West Coast Path and warned the public to “stay away from the edge and base of cliffs” on the beach.
But that did not deter some daring walkers going out for an Easter Sunday stroll on top of the precarious cliff, ignoring signs warning of the dangers.
One pair were spotted very close to the cliff edge, while another individual was seen scrambling over the mass of rubble that remains at its base.
Other beach-goers walked on the sand at the bottom of the cliff despite the possibility of further rockfalls.
‘People were mere metres away as several tons of rocks came crashing down into the sea’
Video footage was captured the moment the cliff collapsed last week. Some people were just 50 yards away from the spot where the rocks tumbled on to the beach.
Omar El-haj said: “As soon as zoomed in, the cliff began to collapse.
“People were mere metres away as several tons of rock came crashing down into the sea.”
Dorset council warned other walkers to beware a “greater risk of landslides of rockfalls”. It said: “Please take extra care if you’re visiting the coast this weekend, rockfalls and landslips can happen quickly and without warning. Please take notice of signage and stay away from the edge and base of cliffs.”
There were three other rockfalls further along the beach in January and another last November during Storm Ciaran.
The National Trust warned one section of the Dorset coast at Hive Beach near Burton Bradstock had suffered 15 years of erosion in one day in that storm.
I