Major emergency response after rock fall at East Beach in West Bay

There were fears that people may have been on the beach at the time

Author: Maria GreenwoodPublished 22nd May 2023

There has been a major response from emergency services after a rockfall at East Beach in West Bay.

Fire crews, the coastguard, and the ambulance service were all called out last night, due to concerns people may have been on the beach below.

Due to the high tide and the unstable cliffs access to the cliff fall was not possible.

A spokesperson for Bridport Fire Station said:

"A local resident made themselves available with a drone and this was utilised to search the area around the rock fall with nothing found.

"Further members of the public who were at sea also made themselves known and stated they had seen the rock fall and were pretty certain there wasn’t anyone on the beach during the collapse."

"The Environment Agency were contacted and CCTV footage was requested from the camera located on East pier.

"They confirmed that, in their opinion, no people were on the beach below the cliffs or on the footpath just before or during the collapse.

"With this information and no reports of anybody missing the decision was made to stand down from the incident."

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