Daredevil tourists caught posing for dangerous photographs on 500ft crumbling clifftop
The group of young tourists took it in turns to teeter on one leg or dangle their feet over the cliff edge at Seven Sisters Country Park
DAREDEVIL tourists were caught posing for dangerous photographs on a 500ft crumbling clifftop.
The group of young tourists, believed to be Korean, took it in turns to teeter on one leg or dangle their feet over the cliff edge at Seven Sisters Country Park near Brighton, East Sussex.
In one photo, a young woman in a cream coloured dress stands on one leg just inches from a sheer drop to the sea below at the popular beauty spot.
Another shot shows a woman dressed in a black coat, striped tracksuit bottoms and white trainers dangling her legs over the edge with her arms spread out wide.
The Coastguard today branded their behaviour dangerous and warned that no photograph is worth risking your life for.
A spokeswoman for Solent Coastguard, which patrols the area, said: “We’ve seen a number of cliff collapses around the coast in recent months and it’s very clear that these cliffs are very unstable in places.
“We really can’t stress enough how important it is to keep back from the edge. There is no safe place to be.”
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There has been record levels of coastal erosion over the last few years with increasingly frequent storms softening up the chalk cliffs.
There have been dramatic collapses along the stretch, notably at Birling Gap where the National Trust cafe has had to be moved back from the edge.
Bob Jeffery, from Eastbourne Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), warned that it was just a matter of time before the piece of cliff in the photograph collapsed.
He said:“You can see it is like a ledge and you can see where the cracks are forming.
“Once there are cracks it is only a matter time before it goes and if you happen to be on the edge at that moment you are not going to survive.”
The Coastguard spokeswoman added: “Don’t be tempted to go and investigate and don’t risk going to the edge to get a dramatic picture – no selfie or photograph is worth risking your life for.
“Use the designated paths, take notice of any warning signs, be responsible and don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
Recent campaigns have aimed to highlight the dangers of posing for photographs on cliff edges with the National Accident Helpline’s #SelfieSafety launched in October.
It is estimated that around 10 inches of rock are lost along the Seven Sisters each year.
However, more than 10 inches has been known to disappear into the sea in one fall following particularly bad storms.
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