Walker escaped cliff collapse 'by seconds'

A man has told how he and four others escaped a cliff collapse on the Newquay coast after a huge section of cliff crashed down in front of them without warning.

Kieron English, 20, had been exploring the area with his friend Rian Walker on Saturday afternoon when the path suddenly vanished.

The pair, three other walkers and two dogs were stuck "with no way of getting out" and were rescued by a lifeboat crew.

"A couple of seconds before and we could have all lost our lives," said English.

English, who has lived in the seaside town for only three months, said he had asked his brother, who used to live there, for ideas on places with good sea views and his brother suggested trying a spot near the Fly Cellars.

English said they heard a noise "like a high pitched squeal".

"Next thing we know, the whole cliff collapsed in front of us," he said.

Three separate groups ended up stranded together on a concrete pad with no safe way out. The tide was too high to attempt swimming and the cliff was too unstable to climb.

English said: "A couple of seconds before and we could have lost all our lives."

Coastguards said the section of coastpath was impassable and "the public are requested to avoid the area for the time being".

It comes as recent yellow weather warnings and two named storms battered the South West earlier this week and caused disruption.

A yellow rain warning is also in place from 12:00 on Monday to 09:00 on Tuesday.

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