Landslip 'eats into' South West Coast Path on Portland

Alastair Sharman-Courtney was out for his usual run along the South West Coast Path on Sunday, February 25 in the morning when he noticed that a large section of the cliff had fallen away.

He says part of the coast path near to Mutton Cove on the west side of the island had been 'eaten into' by the landslip.

He added that sediment was still falling when he arrived at around 9am, though the majority of the slip had already taken place. 

The section by the path that fell away (Image: Alastair Sharman-Courtney)

Alastair Sharman-Courtney said: "I would say it happened early hours Sunday morning, it was still fresh and the rain hadn't touched it. It probably happened a couple of hours before when it was still dark.

"Very small bits were still moving on the surface as it hadn't settled yet fully.

"It happened very much on the southwest coast path, it literally ate into it a bit. About half a kilometre from the school.

"It was quite a large slip. I was out running and looked over and was shocked and took some photos. There is so much subsidence on the island, even on the east side, a lot is going away. This is the biggest one on the island that I have seen outside of the quarry."

This follows a recent landslip at Bowleaze Cove in Weymouth and another captured on video at Lulworth Cove along the Jurassic Coast.

Experts have warned that cliffs are ‘fragile’ and are urging people to stay away from cliff edges.