- Man dressed like grim reaper narrowly avoided sea waves while rock climbing
This is the moment a mysterious figure looking like the grim reaper risked death to climb over a rockfall just moments before it was engulfed by the sea.
Dressed head to toe in a black hooded dry robe, the tourist ignored repeated warnings to stay away from the 40ft pile of rocks on the beach at West Bay, Dorset.
In the video, he can be seen attempting to climb over the fallen boulders before realising the threat of the fast incoming waves.
Then he tries to run back to the beach but has to resort to leaping onto a rocky ledge to avoid being swept away.
Dressed head to toe in a black hooded dry robe, the tourist ignored repeated warnings to stay away from the 40ft pile of rocks
In the video, he can be seen attempting to climb over the fallen boulders before realising the threat of the fast incoming waves
As well as the powerful tide, the thrillseeker was also in danger of falling rocks from the delicate 150ft sandstone cliffs.
Last week, a 100ft wide section of the cliff gave way after taking a pounding from Storm Ciaran.
The rockfall has cut off the much-loved beach which features in the popular ITV drama Broadchurch and has posed an increasing threat to the South West Coast Path at the top of the cliff.
Local photographer James Loveridge captured the drone video and said he was surprised to see the carefree individual acting in an ‘incredibly dangerous’ way.
He added: ‘I was taking a few different angles [of the cliff] when someone walked along the beach.
‘With waves coming in going right up to the cliff, they climbed up the side of the rockfall to get away from the rocks before running back.
Local photographer James Loveridge captured the drone video and said he was surprised to see the carefree individual acting in an ‘incredibly dangerous’ way
The figure tries to run back to the beach but has to resort to leaping onto a rocky ledge to avoid being swept away
‘It’s dangerous enough climbing rockfalls on this stretch of cliff but far more so right after a storm like Ciaran where the waves were undermining the base of the cliff and the volume of rain can destabilise the cliffs.
‘Added to this was the fact the waves were regularly reaching the base of the cliff and the rockfall meaning there was a risk of being cut off.
‘It’s incredibly dangerous. The Jurassic Coast Trust recommend not walking closer than the height of the cliff, to the base of the cliff.
‘On this stretch it would mean staying at least 40-50 metres away from the base of the cliff.
‘You can see from the video the small caves and cracks forming at the base of the cliff all the way along.
‘Usually people look like they’re looking for fossils but this person seemed to walk to the rockfall just to look at it then had to get out the way of incoming waves.’
The video acts as a strong reminder of the threat posed by recent rockfalls following pounding storms.
