Woman sunbathes on fallen debris right underneath Broadchurch cliffs

This is the shocking moment a woman sunbathes on fallen debris underneath the unstable Broadchurch cliffs where there have been several major recent rockfalls.

The visitor seems oblivious to the danger she is in as she lounges back on rocks amongst boulders the size of cars at West Bay, Dorset.

A few yards away, a young man wanders among the rocks and inspects them, unperturbed by the eroding Jurassic Coast sandstone cliffs.

The 180-million-year-old Jurassic Coast cliff has been eroded away by the sea and is notorious for rockfalls, with thousands of tons falling this year.

Locals fear more rockfalls are imminent along that stretch of coastline, but this has not stopped some tourists from ignoring the warning signs.

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The cliffs are made up of sandstone rock which is porous and acts like a sponge with rainwater which seeps down through it and weakens it over time.

Visitors are asked not to go near the fallen cliffs to look for fossils and never to sit or walk close to the base of the cliff.

The South West Coast Path between West Bay beach and Freshwater Holiday Park is currently closed for safety reasons.

West Beach is a smaller beach formed between the harbour's Jurassic Pier and the Esplanade's rock armour groynes.

West Bay played a starring role in the hit ITV crime drama Broadchurch, starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman. 

The cliff pair were criticised on social media for their 'brain dead' actions.

Paula Robinson Lile said: 'Sadly we can't cure stupidity. No thought for the people who have to put their own lives at risk to save them if the cliffs went.'

Nick Hartnell added: 'Brain dead. Putting not only themselves at risk but those brave people that would have to risk their lives to save them too.'

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: 'Rockfalls and landslips can happen at any time. If people are out on the coast then they should take notice of warning signs and keep to existing paths and stay away from the edge and the base of cliffs.'

In 2012, tragic holidaymaker Charlotte Blackman was killed in a rockfall at Burton Bradstock, around two miles from West Bay Beach.

 An inquest heard how the 22-year-old was walking on the beach with her family when 400 tons of rock splunged down a cliffside and buried her.

Despite his own injuries, her 45-year-old father Kevin, scrambled over the fallen rocks to try find her  helped by her boyfriend Matthew Carnell.

Mr Carnell had managed to save Miss Blackman’s 12-year-old brother Mitchell by pulling him into the sea at Freshwater Beach in Dorset. He said she had been just 10ft from them – and from safety.

It took nine hours for emergency workers to free Miss Blackman and she was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Carnell said during the inquest: 'It happened so fast, it was the blink of an eye. We had no time to get out of the way. I grabbed Mitchell and ran a few metres into the sea.

‘With that, a large dust cloud appeared and it was impossible to see for 20 seconds.

‘I turned to the area where the cliff face fell, boulders the size of a hay stack. I couldn’t see Charlotte.

‘It was complete chaos. I was in a panic and all I could think about was to get Charlotte out of there.’