Nefyn beach landslide: People advised to temporarily move

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Media caption,

Eyewitnesses said the north Wales cliff fall was up to 40m (131ft) wide

People living near the site of a major landslide in north Wales have been advised to temporarily relocate.

Monday's cliff fall in Nefyn, Gwynedd, saw some seaside homes lose parts of their gardens to the beach below.

Gwynedd Council said a large area of the cliff face and adjoining private land had been lost in the "significant" landslide.

It said residents had been been spoken to and it was contacting the owners of nearby second homes.

The council said it was in contact with the Crown Estate, which is responsible for the section of beach up to the high-tide mark, and warning signs were being installed.

North Wales Police previously said it was aware of people gathering on the beach to take photographs and advised the public to avoid the area.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) lists Nefyn as being in a "subsidence hazard zone".

The coastal area has a surface geology of weak, superficial drift deposits of clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Image caption,

Neighbours say the house that lost a large part of its garden is a second home

Speaking on Monday, Christian Pilling, who works nearby, said he was on a walk in the area and "had the shock of our lives" when they saw what had happened.

He added: "I don't think anyone was on the beach. We'd gone down there about half an hour after it happened. t's a good 40m wide, but it's hard to tell."

Joan Coppin, who lives near the beach, said: "It's taken land from the bottom of holiday homes on Rhodfar Mor - we have got local people to the right of those and they are in quite a precarious place, I would say.

"Us locals don't go there when the tide is coming in. The whole of the area - about two-and-a-half miles - has coastal erosion. We have had big landslides before."

In 2001, Shirley Race, 58, died, external and her husband Donald, 63, was seriously injured in Nefyn when a landslide engulfed their car, sweeping it over a cliff and into the sea.

Image source, Christian Pilling
Image caption,

Emergency services and utility companies are securing the scene