MORE cliff falls are expected at Shaldon, where a dramatic landslip last month sent tonnes of debris crashing into the sea.

The landslide was caught on camera by a passer-by, and footage showed a cascade of red sandstone sliding from the Ness into the water, taking trees and other debris with it.

Teignbridge Council has since fenced off a large area of the Ness headland at the mouth of the Teign Estuary for public safety.

A stretch of the South West Coast Path has been affected.

‘These are 280 million year-old soft sandstone rocks,’ coastal officer Graeme Smith told a meeting of the Teignbridge executive.

‘They have a propensity to erode and fall.

‘We are expecting further falls in the area.’

Mr Smith said tree surgeons were currently working to take down a tree which was currently ‘teetering on the edge’ of the crumbling cliffs.

The tree will then have to be recovered from the beach below.

Members of the committee endorsed a long-term plan for beach management at Teignmouth in response to naturally-occurring erosion which has lowered sand levels.

The new management of the beaches could include developing new coastal defences, with funding coming from the government.

Cllr Jackie Hook (Lib Dem, Bushell) said: ‘If we do nothing, the beaches will continue to get lower and narrower, particularly at the southern end of Teignmouth seafront.

‘The flooding and erosion risk will increase as the beaches lose their ability to act as a natural buffer against waves and storms.

‘Public access, recreation and tourism may decline in some sections of the beach.’