Sunbathers forced to run into sea to escape cliff crashing down onto beach

This is the dramatic moment a cliff crashed down onto a beach in Devon next to a group of people who were sunbathing.

Footage showed a cloud of brown dust billowing into the sky as tons of rocks fell onto the ground in Sidmouth.

The incident at the Jacob’s Ladder end of the beach happened on Saturday during the town’s Regatta weekend.

People were forced to run down the beach and into the water to escape from the landslide and the cloud.

In the video, it can be seen just how close it came to be a disaster for some of the people on the beach.

Following the collapse, the Sidmouth Lifeboat was launched to conduct a search of the shoreline near Salcombe Mouth in case anyone had been swept into the sea.

A spokesperson for East Devon District Council had previously said the cliffs ‘pose a very real danger’ and ‘caution must be exercised when visiting’.

‘Rock falls and landslides are unpredictable events, occurring without warning, and can cause serious injury or death,’ they said.

The spokesperson added people ‘should always take care around the cliffs of East Devon as all are made of soft rock and pose a cliff fall danger’.

The Coastguard advises that beach users stay at least the height of the cliff away -meaning that if a cliff is 20 metres high, a distance of 20 metres should be kept.

The cliffs in Sidmouth are notorious for crumbling with falls of rocks previously taking place at both East Beach and Jacob’s Ladder.

In September at the East Beach end of the town, footage captured a ‘waterfall of earth’ coming tumbling down.

And in October there was another incident at the other end past Jacob’s Ladder.

The most recent collapse happened in March when people described rocks the size of cars coming down onto the beach below.

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