East Devon: Experts warn of South Coast cliff fall dangers after heatwave

Experts have warned that this week's heatwave could trigger a number of cliff collapses along the Devon coastline.

A cliff collapse last Monday in Sidmouth was the second large landslide in the area in two weeks,  and more falls are expected.

The Guardian is reporting that East Devon cliffs appear to be the most vulnerable as a result of their unique geographical formation.

Geologists are urging the public to be hypervigilant and not walk along the top of the cliffs or walk below them on the beach.

Rural East Devon Police have also urged the public to take care and asked them not to walk on the beach to the east of Sidmouth because a large fall could occur at any time.

Dr Vanessa Banks is an engineering geologist with the British Geological Survey, (BGS) and she said: "I walk along a beach as a geologist, and I am genuinely shocked that people don't appreciate the overhangs above them sometimes. That's because I have the training, and other people are looking at the rocks for their beauty.

"The difficulty is, we can't tell exactly where these incidents are going to occur, therefore it is important that people take care themselves," Banks said. "They can't tell themselves, because the cracks that are forming in the cliff top are not visible to the beach user."

Initial research seems to suggest that the cliffs in East Devon may be especially vulnerable to collapse as a result of its fine soil and weak rock. More research is needed to establish the links between hot and dry weather and increased falls.

Dr Banks continued: "This week, at Sidmouth, we had a formation called the Sidmouth mudstone formation, a fairly fine-growing soil, or weak rock, which overlays sandstone, again quite weak."

Read more:

Undercliff walkway in Sidmouth remains closed after a cliff fall

Two cliff falls reported at Sidmouth's East Beach