Saints landslide ‘worst in 33 years’
A SECTION of coastal footpath above Saints Bay has collapsed, and further slips could happen.
Three signs have been put up informing walkers of the path’s closure, and the Saints Harbour road has also been closed as a precaution.
St Martin’s constables warned pedestrians to avoid the area until it was cleared.
Paul Briggs, whose home is directly next to the field where the bank collapsed, has lived there for 33 years. About 10 metres has collapsed down the cliff. He said that a failure of this scale had not happened before.
‘There was a smaller one years ago, but not as big as this,’ he said.
A spokesman for Agriculture and Countryside Land Management Services said that events such as this could occur after extended periods of very heavy rain.
‘Work will need to be carried out, but we need to wait until the land is less saturated before a States engineer undertakes a more detailed assessment of the situation,’ he said, and he thanked islanders who had raised concerns with the service.
‘For their own safety, islanders need to avoid the area as there are large rocks on the cliff path below and, given the ground is saturated in that area, and more rain is possible, there is still a risk of further slips.’
. Issues can be reported to ACLMS by calling 220110 or emailing aclms@gov.gg. People can also use the What3Words app to give an exact location.
