Part of cliff collapses into sea at Rock-a-Nore

Part of a cliff has collapsed into the sea on the East Sussex coast after being undermined by rough seas.

Nobody is believed to have been injured in the collapse at Rock-a-Nore, near Hastings, at about 13:30 GMT.

Elsewhere, Gatwick Airport says it has plans in place to minimise the impact of possible weekend flooding.

Thousands of passengers had their Christmas travel plans ruined by power cuts at the north terminal caused by flooding on Christmas Eve.

A spokeswoman from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said coastguards were called to the scene of the collapse.

'Absolutely amazing'

A Hastings Borough Council spokesman said "very rough seas" pounding the base of the cliff, which would have been weakened in the past, had caused the collapse.

Eyewitness Kevin Ice, who filmed the cliff collapsing, said: "It was absolutely amazing. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

"Luckily there was no-one around past the railings, where we were, and sometimes people fish round there.

"There's a lot more up there ready to come down."

Members of the public have been urged to stay away from the coastline, coastal paths and promenades.

The Environment Agency has warned of high tides along the Sussex coastline during the early hours of Saturday.

Brighton and Hove City Council also said last week's storms had changed the shape of the beach, making it extremely steep and dangerous in parts.

A Gatwick Airport spokesman said all critical sub-stations and switch rooms had sandbag protection in place and extra pumps were in place around the airport.

He said: "There are also extra stand-by generators on the airport should they be required and additional engineering and electrical staff will be on site throughout the weekend to respond quickly to any issue that may arise.

"Staff volunteers will also be on hand to assist passengers."

Christmas Eve departures, apart from British Airways, were switched to the south terminal after electricity sub-stations at the airport were flooded.

Some passengers were at Gatwick for as long as 12 hours before being told to go home because their flights had been cancelled.

In all, 62 departures and 59 arrivals were cancelled. Passengers who were affected are to be offered £100 of shopping vouchers.

Gatwick said a full review into what happened would be undertaken by David McMillan, former director general of Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, and a non-executive director of the airport.

The report and his recommendations will be published in February.