Steps leading down to a popular Falmouth beach have had to be cordoned off after recent storms cause part of the sea wall to collapse, leaving metal rods exposed.
The Falmouth Packet reported that safety concerns had been raised after sections of the crumbling sea wall had been discovered on the Castle Beach with metal strengthening rods exposed. Falmouth mayor Steve Eva expressed fears that “it could be dangerous if children were playing and slipped.”
Now beachgoers are being advised to take extra care when accessing the eastern end of the beach next to the slipway and steps after the partial collapse of the sea wall.
The wall, which supports the promenade, had suffered structural damage during recent storms, which had caused the loss of several pieces of granite facing. The wall is now in need of significant repairs, which Cornwall Council say will require a period of settled weather to undertake, as well as repairs to other sections of the damaged seawall nearby.
A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: “Beach users are asked to give this area a wide berth, using the adjacent slipway or the other alternative access points available to reach the beach and will still be able to gain access to the beach using the ramp.
“In the meantime, the steps are to be cordoned off to make the area safe, and residual loose stonework/concrete will be removed to control the risk of falling debris.”
The Cornish coastline had recently taken a battering when strong winds combined with high tides had resulted in huge waves.
The conditions prompted a number of warnings from emergency services not to get too close to the sea wall, and coastguards were forced to close the roads and coastal footpaths near Falmouth’s beaches on more than one occasion.
Members of the public were also reminded of the dangers they put not only themselves in but the lives of the emergency services staff and volunteers that will have to go in and rescue them if they enter the water in bad conditions or get too near and are swept into the sea.
Castle Beach, along from Gyllyngvase, is the most northerly of all the Falmouth beaches, situated alongside Pendennis Point. It is a popular family beach, known for its rock pools, formed when the incoming tide covers the majority of the shale beach.
At the time Falmouth mayor Steve Eva warned people to take care if visiting the beach, fearing someone could hurt themselves on the sticking-out metal.
He said: “The wall where the slope and the steps are, by the cafe, has ripped apart leaving big metal rods protruding out of the wall and from a chunk of wall that detached from the main structure.
“It could be dangerous if children were playing and slipped.”
He and his wife Vicky have reported the issue to town clerk Mark Williams and also Cornwall Council.
Vicky Eva commented that she was worried someone might get impaled on the exposed steel rods if the problem wasn’t addressed ‘sooner rather than later’, tides permitting.
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