Car stuck on Looe cliff path recovered

The Mercedes was abandoned on the cliff path

A car that was left precariously on a Cornwall cliff footpath above a steep drop has been recovered.

The Mercedes was found abandoned on the stretch between Looe and Plaidy on Saturday morning and removed on Sunday.

Fencing was put up to close the path to walkers and recovery "was not straight forward", East Looe Town Trust told the BBC.

No-one was believed to have been hurt but the car's steering was damaged, they said.

A tyre mark in vegetation could be seen on Tuesday

A woman from the town, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was shocked to come across the vehicle on her morning walk on Saturday.

She said "thank God they didn't go over the edge", but questioned "how did they not realise their error well before this point?".

She also said she was concerned about "what damage had been done to the cliff path with the weight of a large car on it".

The woman told the BBC people were able to "just squeeze by" between the car and the cliff wall.

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police were called at about 08.15 (BST) on Saturday 25 March to reports of an abandoned vehicle on a coastal path in Looe".

They said officers "traced the owner of the vehicle, who said it had broken down" and "made a safety assessment and informed relevant parties".

Jane Day, manager of East Looe Town Trust said: "For safety reasons, we closed a small section of the path where the car was, which meant that walkers on the path took a short detour up to Bay View Road.

She said she liaised with the police, Cornwall Council and the driver's insurance company which tasked a recovery company to remove the vehicle "very efficiently on Sunday morning".

She said: "I understand that it was not a straight-forward recovery due to damage to the steering of the car."