Moment huge chunk of rock falls off cliff face onto beach below after it cracked in recent spell of hot weather
- Sidmouth cliff in Devon cracked and fell onto the beach below at 9.15am today
- Visitors have been warned that the East Bay in Sidmouth is not a safe area to be
- The heatwave has weakened the rock causing a series of landslides in that area
- The footage shows a plume of dust and debris as the rock breaks and falls below
Another major cliff collapse has taken place today along the Jurassic Coast which has been scorched and cracked by the recent hot weather.
Walkers watched in horror as a large section of Sidmouth cliff, Devon, crashed onto the beach at 9.15am.
Parts of the cliff face are still giving way hours later according to eye witnesses.
There are no reports of casualties.
The footage shows beach-goers watching as the rock begins to slide before it crashes into the beach below, causing a large plume of rock and dust to rise.
The video shows beach-goers enjoying the weather before chunks of rock begin to fall from the cliff face
Sidmouth cliff was weakened by the recent heat and broke crashing into the beach below
The recent heatwave has caused a series of landslides along this section of the coast, with one rockfall taking place two weeks ago as temperatures pushed towards 40C.
Lee and Joanna Holt, holidaymakers from Staffordshire, were out walking this morning when they witnessed the collapse.
Mr Holt said: ‘My wife and I are early birds, we like to explore places before the town gets busy.
‘We started to walk along the promenade when I spotted a small dust cloud on the beach., then suddenly the cliff gave way.
‘We didn’t hear anything but the sight was immense.
‘Currently parts of the cliff are still giving way.’
The rock falling and landing on the beach caused a large plume of rubble and dust to rise
Two weeks ago, East Devon District’s Engineering Geologist concluded the collapses are due to unseasonably hot and dry conditions weakening the cliff.
Visitors have been warned that the East Bay in Sidmouth is not safe and to stay off it.
Guy Russell, lifeguard supervisor at Sidmouth, said: ‘The cliff fall this morning was extremely dangerous.
‘If you had been on the beach this morning it would have been fatal.
‘As I talk to you now more rocks are coming down off the cliff.
‘The key message for the public is to pay attention to the signs and stay off East Beach.’
Source: Read Full Article