Covidiot campers pitch tents near edge of crumbling cliff with 150-ft drop

Covidiot campers have pitched up tents near the edge of a cliff – which has a staggering 150-foot drop.

Photos show the group of people, who have erected two tents, near the cliffside in Burton Bradstock, Bournemouth in Dorset.

Warning signs are set up in the area telling residents to not go close to the edge due to the huge drop to the water below.

It also comes only months after a section of the cliff crumbled away in a rockfall in December.

The campers have set up near where a young woman was killed by a rockfall in 2012.

Heavy rain affects cliffs along the coast and makes them unstable, with people warned that further rockfalls could happen at any time.

Also, geologists have previously warned Jurassic Coast’s cliffs ‘remain totally unpredictable’.

Rocks crashed down onto the coast between Hive Beach and Freshwater Beach in late August last year, as well as a large section collapsing near West Bay in November as well.

Speaking to the Bournemouth Echo at the time of the West Bay rockfall, Tara Hansford, countryside access development officer at Dorset Council, said: “I cannot emphasise enough that this area is still very unstable and the cliff continues to crumble with material consistently falling and the potential still for larger areas to fall.”

A man fell from the cliff on Saturday, with emergency services swarming the scene, but the incident is not related to the campers seen over the weekend.

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A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “We received a report of people camping in two tents in the area of Cliff Road in Burton Bradstock, in breach of Covid-19 restrictions.

“Officers attended at around 1.30pm and gave words of advice to the occupants, who confirmed they were leaving imminently.

“We would urge people to continue to comply with the Covid-19 regulations that are in place.

“Our officers will continue to be out in our communities – engaging, explaining and encouraging people to act responsibly. We will take enforcement action where necessary.”