Man avoids loss of life by simply 30 seconds when path he had been strolling on disappears in huge cliff collapse simply 5 toes behind him
A walker escaped death ‘by inches’ after he narrowly avoided a huge cliff landslide with seconds to spare.
Kieron English, 20, was walking along a path in Newquay, Cornwall, with his friend Rian Walker when a section of the cliff crashed without warning.
Minutes into their walk they heard a ‘high-pitched squeal’ and turned to see tonnes of soil and rock collapse just five feet behind them.
The pair, three other walkers and two dogs were trapped ‘with no way of getting out’ and had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew.
Kieron, a delivery driver, said if they had been 30 seconds later they would have ‘lost their lives’.
He added: ‘Within about five minutes of us getting down there all we heard was a high-pitched squeal and we turned around and just saw the cliff collapse in front of us.
‘I have never seen that happen before in my life. My other thought was: ‘how are we going to get out?’
Kieron phoned 999 but said while the group waited for the coastguard and RNLI to reach them, they ‘kept seeing rocks and earth starting to fall again’.
A section of path along the coastal route was blocked as Kieron English walked the route
‘If we were there 30 seconds to two minutes later I think we would have lost our lives,’ he said.
After moving to the seaside town three months ago, Kieron was exploring the area with his friend on Saturday afternoon.
Kieron’s brother, who used to live there, suggested trying a spot between the Fly Cellars and Huer’s Hut for the sea views.
It was there that they became trapped with two other groups of walkers on a concrete section with no safe escape.
The tide was too high to attempt swimming and the cliff was too unstable to climb.
‘I have never seen a cliff collapse or even a landslide ever in 20 years. I have never seen one,’ Kieron said.
‘When we were rescued I was just thinking about getting back to land safe and felt grateful to still be alive.’
Kieron was walking along the path in Newquay, Cornwall, with his friend Rian Walker when a section of the cliff crashed down
The cliff was too unstable for the stranded walkers to climb
The coastguard said the section of coastal path is now impassable and the public should avoid it
Kieron’s brother, who used to live there, suggested he try a spot between the Fly Cellars and Huer’s Hut along the coastal path
Coastguard teams from Newquay and St Agnes, Newquay RNLI lifeboats, Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue were all called to help the stranded group
He added: ‘You assume all cliffs are stable but obviously due to the weather and mother nature none of them are ever going to be safe again.’
Coastguard teams from Newquay and St Agnes, Newquay RNLI lifeboats, Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue were all called to help the stranded group.
Newquay RNLI said its volunteers were called at 3.06pm to rescue the walkers and landed their boat on a flat rock before helping each individual on board.
Matt Robins, of Newquay RNLI, said although sea conditions ‘weren’t particularly rough’, it was ‘difficult’ to rescue the stranded walkers because of the sea swell ‘rising and falling against the rocks’.
‘One minor slip could have seen the casualties fall into the water,’ he added.
After being evacuated the walkers were taken to the harbour and offered a hot drink in the lifeboat station while they were checked for injuries.
The coastguard said the section of coastal path is now impassable and the public should avoid it.
