Cliff face collapses close to caravan park in newest rockfall
A cliff face has collapsed near a caravan park in the latest rockfall on Britain’s crumbling coastline.
Aerial footage shows debris lying on the beach and a large part of the cliff face missing in east Sussex.
The collapse happened near the Rushey Hill Caravan Park in Peacehaven, which is just a short distance from the eroding cliff edge.
‘East Sussex chalk cliffs are unstable and crumble without warning at any time of year,’ a spokesperson for Lewes District Council told the BBC.
‘Anyone heading to the coast must stay well away from cliff edges and bases and follow the advice on signs highlighting the dangers.’
It is the latest rockfall on Britain’s crumbling coastline after thousands of tons of rock collapsed on the famous Jurassic Coast in April, contributing to growing concerns over public safety.
A cliff face has collapsed near a caravan park in the latest rockfall on Britain’s crumbling coastline
Aerial footage shows debris lying on the beach and a large part of the cliff face missing in east Sussex
The collapse of part of the cliff face happened near the Rushey Hill Caravan Park in Peacehaven, which is just a short distance from the eroding cliff edge
One of Britain’s most iconic views is the Dorset coastline which stand at 140ft tall and more than 180 million years old but extreme weather resulted in huge chunks falling from the area around Burton Bradstock.
Images of the rockfall show boulders the size of double-decker buses resting on top of a 50ft pile of debris that has blocked the popular beach.
Baroness Brown, member of the UK climate change committee, argued that although we must protect public safety the ‘last thing you want to do is to be putting in place engineering structures’ as ‘all those things are unsightly.’
‘We have to make sure things are clearly signposted and people understand where they can and can’t go at different times.
‘Because the last thing you want to do is to be putting in place the engineering structures, such as seas walls or the piles of rocks that help take the energy out of the waves, or the rock armour at the base of the cliffs.
‘All those things are unsightly and will inhibit the natural evolution of those parts,’ she told BBC Radio 4.
One of Britain’s most iconic views is the Dorset coastline which stand at 140ft tall and more than 180 million year old
Pictured in 2023. Recent extreme weather has seen thousands of tons of rock fall from the area around Burton Bradstock
The cliffs are made up of sandstone rock that is porous and acts like a sponge with rainwater, which seeps down through it and weakens it over time
Images of the rockfall show boulders the size of double-decker buses resting on top of a 50ft pile of debris that has blocked the popular beach
Professor Ian Townend at the University of Southampton said that it is ‘highly likely’ that putting in erosion protection to the cliff will just lead to further problems.
‘It is highly likely that trying to defend the cliff with sea walls, or stabilising the cliff in some way, would simply move the problem elsewhere on the coast.
‘Risk is a fundamental part of life. Our vulnerability increases, the more we are prevented from making our own decisions about the level of risk we are willing to accept. Communication, in multiple forms, can help ensure that visitors are aware of the risk and can make their own decisions.’
The cliffs are made up of sandstone rock that is porous and acts like a sponge with rainwater, which seeps down through it and weakens it over time.
At the same time, strong waves whipped up by storms batter the base of the cliffs, also destabilising them.
In 2012, tourist Charlotte Blackman, 22, was crushed to death when a huge landslip occurred as she walked under the cliffs further along the coast at Burton Bradstock.
