- Do YOU have a story? Email william.g.hallowell@dailymail.co.uk
Reckless tourists have ignored warning signs to access one of Britain’s most popular beauty spots despite it being closed for safety reasons.
The famous stone arch of Durdle Door in Dorset can only be accessed by 143 wooden steps built into the steep 200ft cliff.
Access was shut off in late February after winter storms destroyed the bottom 40 steps but foolish visitors were seen squeezing their way past the barrier to enjoy the beach on Sunday.
Witnesses saw around 100 people ignoring the red ‘Danger: No Access’ sign at the top of the stairs and scrambling across rocks around the collapsed and unusable steps near the bottom.
The iconic landmark is one of the country’s most photographed spots and the popular shingle beach on the Jurassic Coast attracts about 500,000 visitors a year.
The steps were only replaced two years ago after previous winter storms caused them to be buried under clay and mud in a landslide.
Countryside rangers and volunteers built new flights of stairs and reinforced the banks with shuttering, but their hard work has already been undone by coastal erosion.
The Lulworth Estate said in February it did not know when the beach would be reopened but that safety is its ‘highest priority’.
Access was shut off by the Lulworth Estate in late February after winter storms destroyed the bottom 40 wooden steps built into the famous 200ft cliff
However foolish visitors were seen squeezing their way past the barrier, which read ‘Danger: No Access’, to enjoy the beach on Sunday
Tourists at Durdle Door recklessly ignore warning signs that were put up earlier this year a storm battered the coastline
Attempts by members of the public in recent years to get down to the beach by taking a short cut to avoid the steps have ended in tragedy.
In June 2021 Tahira Jabeen, 46, fell 60ft to her death at the beauty spot.
The mother-of-five told her daughter ‘I’ll be fine’ moments before she fell 60ft to her death, an inquest heard.
Ruqayya Hussain pleaded with mother Tahira Jabeen not to climb down the steep cliff close to the famous landmark of Durdle Door in Dorset.
After Ms Jabeen ignored the advice, her daughter took a photo of her mother making her way down the 120ft cliff and posted it to her sisters to say ‘look what mum’s doing’.
A witness at the top of the cliff shouted to 46-year-old Ms Jabeen that ‘you’re going to kill yourself’ while people on the beach yelled at her to stop.
Ms Jabeen, who was wearing black Crocs at the time, was about halfway down the cliff when she slid out of control and plunged onto the beach below.
And in May 2020, in the early months of the pandemic, beachgoers were forced to cram together to make room for air ambulances at the beauty spot after four people injured themselves jumping off cliffs into the sea.
Visitors made their way down to the beach despite the red ‘danger’ signs having been installed at the site
Tahira Jabeen, 46 fell 60ft to her death at Durdle Door after trying to take a short cut down a seaside cliff while wearing Crocs
Hundreds of beachgoers crammed together to make room for an air ambulance which was responding to reports that four people jumped off the 200ft cliff in May 2020
The four jumpers vaulted from the top of the ancient limestone arch. They were seriously injured.
Images from the scene showed a mass of sun-seekers crammed into one area, near the only available exit, as they try to vacate the area while the air ambulance lands.
People packed the beach from side to side despite police chiefs having threatened to impose fines on those meeting in groups of more than two and flouting social distancing rules.
The Daily Mail has approached the Lulworth Estate for comment.
