A thatched cottage is teetering on the edge of a 400ft cliff after a massive landslide on Devon’s Jurassic Coast.
Perched upon a hill above the seaside resort of Sidmouth, the white cottage with a conical roof seems an ideal place to spend a sunny day.
But these soft sandstone cliffs are prone to crumbling, even collapsing, onto the sea and beaches below.
Last weekend, a huge section of the 185 million-year-old cliffs plummeted, splitting Jacob’s Ladder Beach in two and prompting authorities to close the coastal trail for safety reasons.
Some locals described the latest landslide as the biggest they’ve seen in years. One, Ian, said: ‘It was a big one. But perhaps not yet finished.’
He was right. Days later, there was another. It was smaller this time, but it nearly took a whole house with it.
Satellite images show a thick wall of trees and shrubs separating the cottage from the cliff edge.
That’s all gone now, along with a gazebo, paths and sections of both their and their neighbours gardens.
If the cliff falls any further, the house – now 10 metres from the edge – could be gone too.
East Devon District Council said: ‘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.’
In August, people ran down the same beach and into the water to escape the cliff crashing down in a cloud of brown dust. That was the second cliff collapse this year.
Coastal scientist Vicky Walkley warned that cliff falls are ‘very difficult’ to predict, because they can be caused by both heavy rainfall and warm sunshine.
Onecollapse in the area in August 2022 was caused by hot weather cracking the earth.
To stay safe, the coast guard advises people to keep their distance from cliff edges. If the cliff is 20 metres high, you should stay 20 metres away, they say.
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