'Abusive' family removed from Dorset beach by police after landslide
PA
Coastguards were forced to call police when a family refused to leave a Dorset beach after a landslide on Wednesday.
According to the Dorset Echo, at least five people could have been killed after landslips fell on either side of them on Charmouth Beach this week.
The incident was spotted by Lyme Regis firefighter Vigil Turner, who called coastguard rescue teams, including the coastguard helicopter, from his fishing boat.
Lyme coastguard sector manager Peter Pritchard said he thought the tragic accident at Burton Bradstock beach a few weeks ago, which saw 22-year-old Charlotte Blackman killed by a landslide, might have made people more wary.
He told the Dorset Echo: "The disappointing thing is, given the incident at Burton Bradstock, which demonstrates that the threat is very real, the general public just seem to be behaving recklessly.
"They are putting us at risk. It is disappointing, particularly with their attitude to my officers."
Lyme coastguard station manager Graham Turner described the family has "quite rude", telling the paper: "The man was adamant he was going to walk past whoever told him not to. He was quite rude. It is not very often we get that sort of reaction.
"This was a man walking with his wife and three kids. We had to call the police and even then he was quite rude to them.
"The police said he was putting his kids in danger and they could remove them because he was placing them in danger. Then he understood the message and went away."
Bridport Inspector Mike Darby said the police could not force people to move but could take children away if they believe they are being endangered.
He added: "The Friday after the Burton incident we found two people sunbathing directly beneath the same spot.
"They get the message but they just don't care, they think it is not going to happen to them. It is just stupidity."
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