BARTON on Sea residents are urged to avoid walking near the cliff edge following a landslip near Hoburne Naish Holiday Park.

The recent cliff movement has seen a wedge fall from the cliff edge at the bottom of Sea Road.

The wedge, measuring 20 metres long by four metres wide, had slipped down the cliff face about one metre last week.

The latest inspection on February 8 shows the wedge has dropped a further metre, to two metres down the cliff face.

Coastal projects engineer, Peter Ferguson said: "The wedge had dropped far enough down the cliff for it not to pose a safety hazard on the cliff top. A cliff failure is a safety concern when a crack has appeared, but before any significant movement, when the instability may not be noticeable to users of the area.

"The area below the cliff is currently closed and inaccessible due to previous ground movement at this location.

"This type of cliff loss is not unusual at this time of year, especially considering the amount of rain there has been over the last couple of months, as groundwater levels are a significant driver for cliff instability."

The New Forest District Council coastal team are currently monitoring the cliffs at Barton on Sea twice a week to check for signs of cliff movement.

This particular incident was reported to the NFDC coastal team and inspected on Thursday, February 4.

Members of the public are urged to avoid walking near the cliff edge and to not allow dogs to go close to the edge either.

Stay away from the base of cliff as potentially dangerous cliff falls or landslides can happen at any time.

Conditions are currently very wet and there is a risk of becoming stuck in mud.

You can report issues to the NFDC coastal team at coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk or via customer services on 023 8028 5000.