Covid: Family camping on cliff edge fined for lockdown breach

A couple found camping "in a perilous position" on top of a cliff have been fined for breaching lockdown rules.

The pair were found with a child in a tent 85m (280ft) above the North Yorkshire coast in a spot prone to landslips.

Police said the 27-year-old woman and 30-year-old man had travelled from Doncaster and Middlesbrough.

Choosing to camp at the site at Port Mulgrave, near Staithes, had put all three lives at risk, officers said.

North Yorkshire Police said it was "completely irresponsible" to pitch the tent so close to the cliffside along the Cleveland Way, a popular coastal walking route.

"To travel from Middlesbrough and Doncaster with the intention to camp overnight is obviously a clear breach of the regulations," officers said.

"Not only were the individuals involved risking their own safety and the safety of the child who was with them, if a landslide had occurred, they would also be risking the lives of the emergency services who would attend the resulting incident."

Adam Turner, senior coastal operations officer for HM Coastguard, said the couple had "no idea of the extreme danger they were in".

"Cliff edges are really unstable and can easily collapse, as recent landslips in the area have shown," he said.

"If you live near the coast and are in a position to take exercise there in line with current Covid-19 restrictions, please take care near cliffs.

"Keep to paths and stay well back from the cliff edge.

"Check the weather and tides before you head out, wear appropriate sturdy footwear and take a fully charged mobile phone, so if the worst should happen you can call 999 and ask for the coastguard."

A spokesperson from Staithes Coastguard previously said officers from Staithes and Whitby gave safety advice to the couple.

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