A family have been labelled as ‘stupid’ for sunbathing on a beach… right under a massive sign that warns people to beware of the dangerous cliffs towering above.
The beachgoers were pictured chilling in the sand on their deckchairs with their small dog in tow in North Yorkshire, seemingly oblivious to where they’d plonked themselves down.
Kerry Kidd snapped the photo of the family-of-five sitting directly below the perilous cliffs at Staithes Beach in Saltburn-by-the-Sea on Sunday.
She was horrified at their complete disregard for the whopping great red and white sign on the rock face which had ‘beware dangerous cliffs’ written in big capital letters.
It’s the exact same spot where nine-year-old Harriet Forster was tragically killed in a ‘freak accident’ after being struck by falling rocks in 2018.
The 50-year-old had been out dolphin spotting with her husband Graham Kidd, 55, and other relatives and decided to moor up at Staithes Harbour for a pub lunch.
Kerry said she chose not to approach the family for fear of being shouted at, as she says she has experienced this before when trying to point out the danger to people.
Instead she uploaded the images to Facebook to raise awareness of the eroding coastline and the dangers of using the cliffs to escape the sun.
Facebook users were astonished at the family’s ‘unbelievable’ decision to sunbathe below the cliffs and branded their actions ‘stupid’ and ‘idiotic’.
Kerry, from Fylingthorpe, North Yorkshire, said: ‘I think the family were oblivious of the sign behind them and I don’t want to name and shame, I just want to bring awareness of the dangers.
‘They probably looked at that sign and thought “I’m not going rock climbing” [so didn’t think it referred to them] or perhaps they didn’t even notice it.
‘It’s just in the back of my mind that a little girl died on this beach when a rock fell. I know it was a freak accident but it could happen to anyone.
‘We are aware of the dangers of the cliffs but lots of people aren’t. We see people year on year people taking shade underneath the cliff unaware of the dangers.
‘They think it won’t happen to them but that little girl and family didn’t think it would happen to them but it did.’
Kerry said she sees and hears rocks falling from the cliffs on her walks all the time along the North Yorkshire coastline and warns how ‘one small rock could instantly kill you’.
She said: ‘The cliffs are changing on a daily basis and if you’re taking shade on the beach under them and if a rock falls, there is no getting away from it. It happens so quick.
‘If you see anyone sitting near the cliff, no matter what comments you get back from them, it’s your duty to tell them to move. If you want shade on the beach, bring an umbrella.
‘If people aren’t from the area, they might just think that the sign I took the photo of refers to people rock climbing but it’s not, it’s warning people about the rocks falling.’
Facebook users were quick to call out the family’s unobservant behaviour after Kerry shared the alarming picture.
One user commented: ‘Do they think these important signs are to hang their hats on? It makes me so angry.’
Another furious Facebook user said: ‘It’s beyond stupid. They obviously have children with them just by seeing the buckets and spades.
‘Why oh why after the tragic loss of life to a little girl. After all the rain we’ve had this spring these boulders and rocks could slip at any moment.’
Kerry, who is the director of a second-hand clothing business, believes beaches should have more signposting to highlight the dangers of eroding cliffs on the coastline.
She added: ‘The signs that they have up might not be clear enough for people that are not from the area, so maybe we need more signs and clearer signs.
‘Maybe there should be plaques up to mark people that have died [in this way] in the area as a warning sign and maybe there should be more warning signs in general.’
Earlier this week, a group of beachgoers in Dorset unknowingly had a lucky escape after hundreds of tonnes of rocks collapsed from a cliff onto where they were sitting just hours before.
A huge cliff fall also closed a beach on the Isle of Wight at the weekend.
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