Camper who arrange tent inches from cliff edge is slammed by locals
A wild camper who set up his tent just inches away from the edge of a crumbling Dorset cliff has been slammed by locals for being ‘reckless’.
Photographs show the tent just a few feet away from the edge of 150ft cliffs at West Bay, which featured on the ITV crime drama Broadchurch.
The unstable cliffs frequently collapse without warning and tonnes of debris has fallen along that stretch of the coast this year, leading to the cliff path being closed.
But that did not stop the camper from ignoring warning signs and hopping over a temporary fence to reach the dangerous spot.
The man, aged in his 20s, installed himself just 10ft from the sheer drop and is believed to have spent the night there.
The cliffs are made up of sandstone rock which is porous and acts like a sponge with rainwater which seeps down through it and weakens it over time.
TODAY: A wild camper who set up his tent just inches away from the edge of a crumbling Dorset cliff has been slammed by locals for being ‘reckless’ (Pictured: June 18)
TODAY: The man, aged in his 20s, installed himself just 10ft from the sheer drop and is believed to have spent the night there (Pictured: June 18)
TODAY: There is a sheer drop from the cliff edge and debris from previous rockfalls can be seen at the bottom (Pictured: June 18)
APRIL: Elizabeth and Ronald Downes were with their two grandchildren, son, daughter and their son-in-law and daughter-in-law on Charmouth Beach in Dorset when the cliff suddenly collapsed. Pictured: The remains of the landslip on April 15 2024
APRIL: The grandparents were cut off from the rest of their family in the dramatic incident that left the children distraught and in tears. Pictured: Crowds gather around the rockfall on April 15, 2024
Strong waves whipped up by winter storms have battered the base of the cliffs over the past few months, further destabilising them.
There is an enormous crack through the cliff face and locals fear it is ‘only a matter of time’ before that entire section collapses.
Local resident Graham Hunt, who took the drone images, said: ‘I can’t get over the fact that the cliff path has been closed since February because of rockfalls, so this man has ignored signs and gone over a fence to get there.
‘You can’t quite believe why someone would be so reckless by camping so near the cliff edge.
‘There are massive cracks in the cliffs from where they have been undercut and it is only a matter of time before that section goes.’
MARCH: A 30ft boulder crashed down the side of a cliff in Dorset, narrowly missing families walking along the sandy beach in March 2024
MARCH: The landslip happened on a busy section of a popular beach where the hit ITV show Broadchurch was filmed in March 2024
MARCH: Crowds gathered underneath and clambered over the pile of sandstone rock and boulders which had slumped onto the beach at 11.30am on Friday, ignoring warnings not to go near the treacherous area in March 2024
TODAY: The man situated himself just inches from the cliff edge and is believed to have stayed the night there (Pictured: June 18)
TODAY: There is an enormous crack through the cliff face and locals fear it is ‘only a matter of time’ before that entire section collapses (Pictured: June 18)
TODAY: The cliffs are made up of sandstone rock which is porous and acts like a sponge with rainwater which seeps down through it and weakens it over time (Pictured: June 18)
In 2012, tragic holidaymaker Charlotte Blackman was killed in a rockfall at Burton Bradstock.
The latest photos have prompted a safety warning from Coastguard and the local authority.
A coastguard spokesperson urged people to stay clear of cliff edges.
A Dorset Council spokesperson added: ‘Rockfalls and landslips can happen at any time. If people are out on the coast then they should take notice of warning signs and keep to existing paths and stay away from the edge and the base of cliffs.’
