Anger as concrete 'dam' appears on remote beach

The Duchy of Cornwall has urged people to leave the beach as it is

Regular users of a hard-to-reach Cornish beach are angry and confused over a large piece of concrete that has appeared, and is blocking a natural pool.

The concrete, along with slabs and bricks, appeared on Whipsiderry beach near Newquay on Saturday.

The beach can currently only be accessed at low tide as access steps have been closed off due to the risk of cliff falls.

A spokesperson for the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns the land, said it was aware of the "unauthorised modification" and urged the public "not to carry out amendments to the beach".

The concrete block was found on Saturday by a beach user

Leah Steward, 49, found what she described as a "concrete breeze block and bricks" during a beach walk on Saturday.

She said the block was being used to "create a dam in the natural drainage channel" and urged people to leave the beach to be "left wild".

Whipsiderry beach is just north of Newquay

She said: "I was quite shocked. I had a chat with another dog walker and he asked if the pool had always been there and it was much deeper than it usually was.

"It's a natural pool on a natural beach and people don't want to see a big breeze block there."

She said she believed someone had "bizarrely decided in order to prolong their 'wild' swimming in the mermaid pools that it was necessary to use concrete and slate to create a dam in the natural drainage channel."

It is not known when the block was put onto the beach

She added: "Please can Whipsiderry be left wild, enjoy the pools in their wild natural state. No-one wants to see concrete here."

A Duchy of Cornwall spokesperson said: "We would ask the public not to carry out amendments to the beach and simply enjoy the beautiful landscape."