The most stupid school trip stunt ever
POSING for a picture on the crumbling edge of a 250ft cliff, these teenagers are a camera click away from catastrophe.
Days after thousands of tons of rock collapsed into the sea, the group – believed to be foreign schoolchildren – risked their lives for a quick snap.
Around 25 of them piled their weight onto the unstable chalk near Beachy Head, while another stood back to capture the moment on camera.
Earlier this week, a slab 500ft wide and 30ft deep plunged into the surf along the same stretch of East Sussex coastline. It is thought to have been one of the biggest cliff falls for half a century.
Last night safety campaigners condemned the group for ignoring warnings and endangering themselves for the sake of a photograph.
Paul Legendre, from RNLI Newhaven, said: ‘No picture, however scenic, is worth risking your life for and this image could very well have been the last record of the lives of 20 or more young people. It only
‘Could have plunged to their deaths’
takes a second for the chalk edge to split away – they would have all plunged to their deaths and we would have been looking at a tragedy. I can’t believe the stupidity of a whole group doing it.
He added that efforts were being made to establish their identity – but they were thought to be visiting from abroad.
The picture was taken from the Belle Tout lighthouse on Wednesday. Manager Ian Noall said he had ‘never seen anyone take such risks’ near to the 250ft drop.
‘It’s bad enough if there’s just one person, but there were around 25,’ he added. ‘It’s like parking a car on the cliff edge. If my child was on a school trip and organisers did this I would be incandescent.’
Coastguards advise walkers to stay at least 300ft away from the cliff edge and avoid straying too close to the base.
Experts say erosion has increased in recent years due to harsh winters and other environmental factors.