When it comes to serious stupid places to pitch a tent, some people keep finding new and jawdropping ones.
The cliffs at East Beach in the West Bay area of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast has been closed for a very good reason – it has seen numerous rockfalls over the past year, which you can see in the videos below.
And even if you didn’t see the signs, surely you can work out there’s an obvious fault line running along the grass, which looks like it could open up at any moment.
But one foolhardy camper still decided to pitch up their tent between the cliff and the fault line. Were they just terminally stupid? Desperate for a Darwin award? Or a wannabe social media daredevil making the dullest TikTok video ever?
Photographer Daryl Gill – posting on Facebook as West Bay Photography – spotted the camper in their tent just yards from the edge when he filming the area using his drone. He said he was “shocked” by the sight.
“I just think about if something were to happen, then there are a team of people that have to then put their lives at risk - it could easily be avoided,” said Gill.
A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: “Rockfalls and landslips are part of the movement which makes up the unique nature of this coastline, and they can happen at any time. Please stay safe by taking notice of warning signs and keep to existing paths. Stay away from the edge and the base of cliffs, and certainly do not camp there.”
The path between West Bay and Freshwater Holiday Park was closed after a crack appeared on the path itself back in February following heavy rainfall across west Dorset.
- The best one-person tents 2024: solo shelters for backcountry epics
