Beach-goer "narrowly missed" by falling rock

Thursday 25 July 2019

The States are reminding beach-goers to be careful on the south coast after a woman narrowly escaped a falling rock.

She was sitting at the top of Petit Bot with her family when part of the cliff face became dislodged and plummeted to the ground.

Fortunately the woman managed to move out of the way before it reached the ground, but States Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services noted that not everyone would be as lucky.

"We saw a landslide in the middle of the cliff-face directly at the back of the beach," said Claire Allen who was on the beach at the time. "It came down around some people sitting towards the back of the beach. They managed to run onto the beach. 

We witnessed two landslides on the back of the cliff at Petit Bot beach yesterday. One was close to fatal but luckily no one was hurt. Tempting in this weather to sit in the shade under the rocks but don’t sit near these cliffs! It’s been reported to the douzaine @Govgg pic.twitter.com/EH6yNkGEIO

— Claire Allen ???? (@ClaireAllenGSY) July 23, 2019

"It was dramatic and terrifying to watch. Some of the rocks were bigger than a person's head! It was pretty miraculous that no one was hurt.

"I've never seen anything like that happen in Guernsey before."

It is not just Petit Bot that poses a risk though and ACLMS has issued a warning to all those planning a visit to any of the bays between Fermain and Portelet.

It is understood most rock falls occur during the winter months when the beaches are relatively quiet. Each time it happens the service seeks professional advice on the risk it creates, but says no coastal cliff face in the island can be deemed 'safe'.

Over the years cliff faces weather through wind, rainfall and freeze/thaw conditions which makes rock falls more likely. This means soft cliffs of loose clays and small stones, like this at Fermain, Moulin Huet, Petit Bot and Portelet, can collapse without warning.

Pictured: Petit Port.

Petit Port is also prone to rock falls and the States has netted several areas of the cliff face to prevent injury. The cliffs are also inspected regularly with work carried out by contractors to keep the access steps to the bay open. However, even with these precautionary measures, ACLMS highlighted that it is not possible to completely negate the risk of rock fall at Petit Port.

Anyone visiting local beaches that are prone to rock falls are advised to sit further forward and avoid the base of the cliffs at all times.

Pictured top: Petit Bot.