A mobile phone video of a cliff fall on Compton Beach captured by Islander, Phil Baldwin, sends a clear message of why you shouldn’t sit or walk near the bottom of cliffs.
His video (see below) was shared on Facebook a couple of weekends ago and has now had over 44,000 views, as well as being featured on ITV news.
The cliff fall took place between Compton and Brook. Phil said,
“Seconds after walking past, I heard some rocks fall then caught this!
“I was looking at the Iguanodon foot prints at the bottom of the cliff, a little bit came down so started to walk away and then heard loads coming down, turned round and caught that.”
Jump down to see the video (warning: does contain some swearing).
Phil also captured these great shots, illustrating just how much of the cliff had fallen.
Click on images to see larger versions
Stay clear of the edge
The eroding coastline is beautiful to look at, and the beaches wonderful to spend the day on, but it’s important to be beach safe.
As you can see from the video, a substantial amount of debris fell, but what was surprising was the speed at which it fell. Had a family with small kids been picnicking at the bottom of the cliff, they would have struggled to move away quickly.
The same warning works for those walking along the coastal path at the top of cliffs.
Hopefully this video will serve as an important warning to those using UK beaches this summer.
(Warning: video does contain some swearing)
Images and video: © Phil Baldwin
