A dog walker who was killed by falling cliffs died a hero as he managed to push his wife out of the way first. The man, understood to be in his 50s, was walking along Thorpeness beach along with his wife and their pet when the cliff above them gave way.
According to reports, the brave man managed to shove his wife out of the way and their dog fled. But he was buried under sand and rubble. Local residents dashed to the beach along with spades to help to dig the walker out and emergency services were called.
However, when they managed to reach him, he was already dead. A huge emergency services operation was launched involving police, coastguard, paramedics and firefighters. However, the man simply could not be reached in time. Floral tributes have now been left where he lost his life yesterday lunchtime. Police officers have now cordoned off parts of the beach amid fears that other sections of the cliff may collapse.
Coastal expert
Mike Chandler, a coastal expert who lives in the village, said that the cliffs had been affected by the high tide. While warning signs had been put up at the top of the cliff face, it was impossible to put signs on the beach as they would have been washed away. Because the tide was so high, anyone walking on the beach would have been walking very close to the cliffs.
Local resident Andrew McLardy said there had been a number of cliff falls on the same beach in recent weeks. Because the tide had washed away the bottom of cliffs, an unstable area of cliff face had been left at the top, which gave way. Suffolk police say that they are not treating the man’s death as suspicious. Meanwhile coastguard officials have reminded people to be careful in the area.