The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have issued a safety reminder about the risks of cliff falls along the coast following a large scale incident in East Sussex last night (Wednesday).
Newhaven Coastguard Rescue Team, Birling Gap Coastguard Rescue Team, the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Lydd, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS) and Sussex Police carried out an extensive search at Seaford Head near Newhaven in case anybody had been caught in the fall of several thousand tonnes of rock and earth.
The search was stood down at around 20:00 after nothing was found and no one was reported to be missing or overdue.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard agency has today said:
“Last night’s cliff fall prompted multiple 999 calls to the Coastguard which is the right thing to do if you see this happen on the beach you’re on.
“The cliffs along the UK coastline are continually eroding and we’ve seen a number of cliff collapses in recent months – last night’s fall was several thousand tonnes.
“It’s impossible to predict when the next piece might fall or how big it will be. It’s very clear that cliffs are very unstable in places and we really can’t stress enough how important it is to keep back from the edge. There is no ‘safe’ place to be”.
When standing at the bottom of a cliff, it is advised that people shouldn’t stand less than the height of the cliff away. That means that if the cliff is 25 metres high, don’t go closer than 25 metres towards it.
In addition, people should not be tempted to go to the edge to get a dramatic picture. One of the biggest problems for HM Coastguard is tackling the ‘selfie culture’ where people take risks to get a dramatic photograph of themselves on a dangerous cliff edge – no selfie or photograph is worth risking your life for.
