A thatched cottage is perilously close to dropping over the edge of a 400-feet cliff after a massive landslip.
The house is now just 12 metres away from collapsing onto a beach below where it sits on the unstable Sidmouth cliffs in Devon.
East Devon District Council closed the popular South West coastal path for safety reasons after the collapse of a huge portion of the cliff at Jacob’s Ladder Beach between Sidmouth and Ladram Bay last week.
Tonnes of debris that came crashing down caused a smaller rock fall directly below the thatched property.
The council reminded visitors to “stay well clear” of the cliffs along the Jurassic Coast when walking on the beach, with Coastguard advising that beach users put a distance equivalent to the height of the cliff between them and the cliff base.
A council spokesman warned: “Following a cliff fall at Jacob’s Ladder Beach in Sidmouth, we’d like to remind visitors to keep their distance from cliffs along the East Devon coastline.
“Cliff falls are a natural and unpredictable occurrence along the East Devon coast.
“This is because the rock from which the cliffs are formed is soft, and therefore prone to rock falls, and landslides, which can happen at any time.”
Drone footage of the 185 million-year old sandstone cliffs showed the magnitude of the landslip – and the risk it poses to both homeowners and members of the public venturing onto the beach.
Following a similar collapse at the same location last year, coastal scientist Vicky Walkley had warned that cliff falls were “very difficult” to predict, and could be contributed to by both heavy rainfall and warm sunshine.
There was another cliff collapse in Sidmouth in August 2022 which came after hot weather cracked the earth.
In March 2020, large chunks of the Sidmouth cliffs gave way in two separate collapses, sending rocks and sand tumbling down to the beach, just yards away from where people were stood.
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