A FORMER Lyme Regis landfill site is yielding items from the Victorian era and beyond.

Recent coastal landslides on the eastern side of the resort have thrown up material from the one time rubbish tip at Lyme along with, of course, the expected fossils.

The smoking tip, unused for over a quarter of a century, used to be reached by refuse disposal officers, including the famous bowler hat and swallow tailcoat dustmen, by way of Spittles Lane.

Private operators used it, too, in days of old. One of them made candles with the fat from burned material and rewarded those who gave him rubbish with one or two of his products.

The surfacing of cast-offs from generations ago, including pottery and cutlery, increases the shore's reputation as a beachcombers' paradise.

But a spokesman from the Coastguard warned: "Although we cannot stop people rummaging along the shoreline, we do not advise activity in this area, bearing in mind the inherent dangers.

"The cliffs are unstable, while there is always the added threat of people, absorbed in their activities, being cut off by the tide."