Shanklin public gardens cordoned off over cliff collapse fear

Police were called to Rylstone Gardens in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight earlier

A clifftop park has been cordoned off and a pub evacuated over fears of an imminent cliff collapse.

Police were called to Rylstone Gardens and the Fisherman's Cottage in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, shortly after 11:00 GMT.

Isle of Wight Council said "ground movement and cracks" had been spotted along the clifftop.

It said the issue was being investigated and the pub nearby would reopen Saturday evening.

The Fisherman's Cottage pub, beneath the cliff, has been evacuated

Shanklin councillor Mike Beston said a local resident phoned him to raise the alarm earlier.

He said: "A crack had appeared, 10ft (3m) long and 8 inches (0.2m) wide, that had developed in an hour and a half.

"The crack is under the railings of the clifftop along Rylstone Gardens. The Fisherman's Cottage is almost directly below."

Councillor Mike Beston said a developing crack had appeared under railings on the clifftop

Shanklin Chine Limited, incorporating Shanklin Chine Trust and Fisherman's Cottage, said the pub was closed for about two hours on Saturday "as a temperature measure while the site was surveyed by a world expert in landslides commissioned by Fisherman's cottage".

It added that Fisherman's Cottage "is not directly below any of the area threatened, whilst it is near, it is not in the area of concern".

The council said the gardens and the pub had been cleared as a precaution while engineers assessed the danger.

Shanklin Chine has been closed to pedestrians and local roads have also been sealed off, the authority said.

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