Yahoo News West Bay: Beachgoers run for their lives to avoid latest Dorset cliff fall
The three tourists were stood on the beach immediately below the 150ft sandstone cliffs on the Jurassic Coast in West Bay, Dorset.
Watch: Beachgoers forced to flee rocks in latest Dorset cliff fall
This is the terrifying moment three people run for their lives to avoid being crushed under a huge rockfall.
Dramatic video footage has emerged showing 400 tonnes of rocks and boulders the size of cars breaking away from unstable cliffs.
The three tourists were stood on the beach immediately below the 150ft sandstone cliffs on the Jurassic Coast in West Bay, Dorset.
One of them was seen taking pictures of the cliff when a large section of it started to break away. At first clouds of dust appeared from the sides of the chunk of the rockface, prompting the two men and woman to start running away from it.
Within five seconds the whole 150ft tall section of the cliff gave way and slumped onto the beach where they had been standing.
The person nearest the landslip was left covered in red dust afterwards, highlighting just how close he came to being struck.
Dorset Council said "these people had a lucky escape... we urge people to stay away from the edge of the cliff top, stay away from the base of cliffs. If you are under a rock fall, the likelihood is you will die."
Other large rock falls have happened in West Bay this year in May and January.
Read more: West Bay: Watch enormous chunk of cliff on Jurassic Coast collapses into sea (from January)
The 180 million-year-old cliffs at West Bay are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are notoriously unstable, with rockfalls frequently happening there.
The fall came after recent periods of torrential rain, followed by warm weather.
Geologist Richard Edmonds said: "When you have had a lot of rain you can expect falls, but it's very unusual in August - so it is partly down to the weather we've had.
"There was also quite a big stormy sea last week with 14ft-high seas at West Bay. Swells are very damaging to the cliffs, so that is probably a contributing factor.
"Two of the landslides at Lyme Regis are moving and creeping forward at the moment, which I've never seen in August. It's very unusual.
"There's always a risk of landslides and rockfalls but it does seem to be quite an extraordinary year. We've had a whole series of unseasonal falls."
Sam Scriven, of the Jurassic Coast Trust, said: "The cliff has been undermined by the sea and gravity has caused a piece of the cliff to fall vertically down.
"It is soft sandstone that will disintegrate and will be swept away within a few weeks.
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"Rockfalls are dramatic and higlight the hazards of the coastline. But it is what the coast does. It is natural. This is the coastline forming as we watch."
A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: "Rockfalls and landslips can happen at any time. These people had a lucky escape. The South West Coast Path above the cliff at West Bay is currently closed."
Dorset Council's 'golden rules'
Stay away from the edge of the cliff top - admire the view from a safe distance
Stay away from the base of cliffs: rock falls and landslides can happen at any time. If you are under a rock fall, the likelihood is you will die
Pay attention to warning signs - they are there for your safety
Check tide times before you set off to avoid being cut off by incoming tides
Keep dogs on leads near the cliff edge
