Hair-raising moment people dice with death on edge of cliff 'with large cracks'

19 February 2024 , 18:33

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People were spotted near the edge of a cliff at West Bay near Bridport, Dorset (Image: SWNS)

A photographer was shocked to see people dicing with death on the edge of a Dorset cliff on Sunday.

The snapper was using a drone to check out the scenery at West Bay near Bridport when he spotted the danger. The eyewitness, who wants to remain anonymous, says: "The group in black looked like a mother with her son and daughter.

"There was another person in orange who was not with them, I think she was a teenager. I was obviously quite shocked to see people so close to the edge, especially the guy in black. This part looks very fragile with large cracks down the face of the cliff.

"The cliff is about 150ft where they are stood." The hair-raising scenes follow cliffs along the same stretch of beach that collapsed last month. A huge section of rock tumbled on January 29. The photographer said: "The cliff falls have been happening quite regularly over the last five years with the last one being about three weeks ago."

The photographer said there are large cracks on the cliff (SWNS)

Back in November, an entire 200ft cliff fell in Newquay, Cornwall, with tonnes of rocks plummeting down. After the incident, steps and a section of footpath leading to a beach were closed. Members of the public were asked to keep well away from the cliff edge at Whipsiderry Beach over fears of further erosion.

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There were protests at the site last year to stop luxury homes being built on the cliff - and angry locals said this week's incident should be a "wake-up call". The site was used back in March 2023 for a protest by locals who were campaigning to have work stopped to fill in caves at the base of the cliffs, to enable properties to be developed on top of the cliff.

The snapper was shocked to see people dicing with death (SWNS)

Campaigners successfully saw developers get their licence suspended over fears their work could make the cliff too unstable. Save Whipsiderry Cliffs group said contractors had been excavating sea caves, with heavy machinery, drilling into rock, inserting steel rods and filling the caves with concrete, including part of the cliff face above.

Due to the damage caused by the recent fall, the steps and surrounding footpath were closed for safety reasons to allow specialist engineers to carry out investigations on site. Cormac said on Facebook: "There has been a large cliff fall on Whipsiderry Beach. Our specialist engineers will be on site carrying out investigations. The steps and surrounding footpath are closed for safety reasons.

"This is a reminder to beach users walking from Porth or Watergate Bay beaches to check the tide times to avoid being cut off. Please keep well away from the cliff edge and follow the signage in place."

Chiara Fiorillo