Dramatic moment beachgoers cheat death as tons of rock plummet to the beach just feet from where they are standing – despite warnings not to walk too close to the 150ft cliff

• Three people can be seen on the sand at West Bay, Dorset as the cliff crumbles
• A man appears to be taking pictures of the World Heritage Site 
• The popular tourist hotspot is the real-life setting of ITV drama Broadchurch

This is the moment beachgoers cheated death when a section of a 150ft cliff crumbled right in front of them and covered them in dust. 

Dramatic footage captured three people standing on the sand at West Bay, near Bridport, in Dorset as the sandstone cliff face began to crumble in front of their eyes. 

A man wearing an orange top appears to be taking pictures of the World Heritage Site as mud and rock start to trickle down.

A section of the cliff suddenly starts to crumple as debris falls into the sea and covers the trio in dust as they start to sprint away.

The 23-second clip was shared on Dorset Council’s Facebook page following the collapse on Tuesday, which has attracted more than 60 comments and 280 shares.

A man in an orange top appears to be taking a picture of the cliff face at West Bay, Dorset as mud and rock starts to crumble

One person wrote: ‘We know you have warning signs sadly they are missed by many people if walking the coastal footpaths please keep children and toddlers away from the edge stay safe.’

While another asked why people still walk under the cliffs. He said: ‘Do they have a brain cells? I wouldn’t go near them as if there is a rock fall (which can be very likely here atm) you have zero chance of getting away from it.

‘Stay back people!! Use your noggin.’

Another said the footage made them ‘never want to walk on that beach again’. 

The cliffs – known as the Jurassic Coast’s Golden Gateway – are a popular family holiday hotspot and stretch for almost 96 miles. 

West Bay is the real-life setting for the ITV crime drama Broadchurch starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman, where the cliffs attract thousands of tourists.

Rangers have temporarily closed the South West Coast Path. The closure can remain in force for six months, although the council said the area would be inspected later this week.  

Drone footage taken two days earlier incredibly showed three pensioners standing on the edge of the cliff on the exact spot where the rockfall happened. 

The group had ignored safety warnings to take a look over the edge at the notoriously unstable ‘Broadchurch’ cliffs.

It is the latest in a series of rockfalls that have occurred at the tourist hotspot in the last three months. 

In May two teenage girls were captured taking selfies at the nearby unstable East Cliff cliffs. 

The beachgoers stand beside the rubble after their lucky escape.  The cliffs – known as the Jurassic Coast’s Golden Gateway – is a popular family holiday hotspot and stretch for almost 96 miles

Drone photographer Daryl Gill shared the images to raise awareness about the deadly nature of the 185 million-year-old cliffs and called for the East Beach below to be closed off to prevent loss of life. 

Mr Gill, who has lived at the resort for 25 years, said: ‘I was shocked to see these people up there on the screen of my drone.

‘They were on the bit of cliff that looks as though it’s going to go.

‘There is a sign up there but people are just ignoring it. It’s like they are taking no notice.

‘I used to be on that beach all the time as a youngster but I haven’t been close to those cliffs for years because it’s so scary. 

‘I just don’t think people understand that it could drop at any moment.’

It comes just months after youths were pictured on the unstable Broadchurch Cliffs where there had recently been a rockfall 

A month later two young tourists ignored and walked straight past warning signs at West Bay in order to pose on the ledge. 

It came after hundreds of tonnes of rock suddenly fell onto the beach.

Then only last month there was another rockfall on the Jurassic Coast in Seatown when thousands of tons of mud and rock slumped from the sandstone beach, blocking it off to the public and taking down a 2,000ft section.

Experts had feared the collapse was only a matter of time after crack at the top of the cliff opened up in 2021. 

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