Despite repeated and very clear advice, beachgoers are still ignoring safety warnings and putting their lives at risk by sitting beneath cliffs.


West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team was called to East Cliff in West Bay yesterday following a call from Solent Coastguard NMOC (National Maritime Operations Centre) and RNLI lifeguards. 


Shockingly, 20-30 people were reportedly putting themselves at risk under the cliffs.


Three rescue officers from the West Bay team quickly responded and headed for East Pier to meet lifeguards.


On arrival, they found a large proportion of the public had moved to areas of safety, but there was still a number of families who had set up for the day under the cliffs - as well as another group hammering away at the cliff face looking for fossils.


Officers relocated to the East Beach car park and patrolled on foot under East Cliff, giving safety advice to all of those at risk.


As the general area was busy, officers then returned to their vehicle and headed for Hive Beach to conduct a similar foot patrol.


Again, a number of people had set up for the day directly under the cliffs and appropriate safety advice was given.


Due to the recent hot weather combined with short sharp periods of heavy rain, multiple cliffs falls have been reported around the country, most notably on the south coast, Norfolk, Wales and Yorkshire.


A spokesman for the coastguard rescue team said: "All of the people we spoke to were very receptive, thankful for the advice and subsequently moved to safer areas, but we again ask people to please pay attention to all of the local warning signs, use good judgement and keep your families safe this summer.


"Very sadly, we have to report that while our West Bay officers were giving safety advice at Hive Beach, our colleagues from Staithes Coastguard Rescue Team in North Yorkshire had just been deployed to a large cliff fall in their area where tragically a nine-year-old girl subsequently lost their life.


"Our thoughts are with the young girls family and all of the emergency services who responded to this devastating incident.


"Please stay safe on the coast this summer, but if you find yourself in difficulty or if you are concerned for others, do not hesitate - dial 999 and ask for the coastguard."