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Woman teeters on cliff edge yards from spot where student fell to her death while posing for picture

The woman, in a red jumper, teetered dangerously close to the cliff's edge: Alamy Live News
The woman, in a red jumper, teetered dangerously close to the cliff's edge: Alamy Live News

A reckless sightseer teeters on the edge of the eroding Birling Gap cliffs, in defiance of repeated safety warnings.

The woman's dangerous antics come after a 23-year-old student fell to her death at nearby Seven Sisters in June.

Despite repeated safety warnings over the risk of cliff falls, tourists continue to teeter on the edge of the cliffs on the Sussex coast for holiday snaps.

Hyewon Kim, from South Korea, fell 200ft to her death in June, after losing her footing while posing for a picture on the world-famous chalk cliffs.

The woman peers over the edge with a friend (Alamy Live News)
The woman peers over the edge with a friend (Alamy Live News)

Ms Kim asked a nearby group of tourists to take a picture of her, during a visit to Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex on June 22.

After jumping in the air for the shot, Ms Kim slipped and fell over the cliff edge, suffering grievous injuries. Pictures found on her phone showed her posing happily with her back to the cliff-edge in the moments she fell.

A student fell to her death yards from the spot where the woman posed for pictures (Alamy Live News)
A student fell to her death yards from the spot where the woman posed for pictures (Alamy Live News)

Last week, an inquest into the incident heard how there had been major rock fall at the same location the previous day.

The cliffs at Birling Gap and Seven Sisters, which attract more than 350,000 people each year, regularly crumble because of coastal erosion.

Birling Gap is known for its rapidly eroding coastline. There were several cliff falls at the site during the summer – including three in 48 hours – which saw a loss of 50,000 tons of chalk to the sea.

Several homes have disappeared from the coastline as the land has gradually eroded.

Earlier this month, the steps leading down from the from the cliff edge to the beach were closed due to the recent increase in erosion.