Danger fears as fossil-hunting vandals hacking away at cliffs

The Yorkshire Post has learned there have been numerous reports of rogue collectors travelling in to target the North Yorkshire coast, using hammers and chisels to prise ammonites and other precious fossils from eroding cliffs, putting them at risk of collapse on to the beach below.

It is believed the rise in incidents is down to the growing popularity of internet sites, such as eBay, where the fossils can be sold on quickly to an international market.

In one recent incident in the popular holiday village of Staithes, near Whitby, over the Jubilee weekend, two men were spotted using hammers and chisels at the bottom of the sea cliffs while the tide was out, causing rockfalls up to 100 metres away.

Experts have raised concerns over the threat to holidaymakers walking under the sea cliffs.

But fears are also being voiced that as a result of the practice priceless findings could not be recorded along the coastline of international importance where major discoveries, such as that of a 70 million-year-old plesiosaur skeleton near Filey in 2002, are still being made.

Will Watts, head of public programmes at Scarborough Museums Trust, said: “People have been collecting from the coast for hundreds of years and the responsible collecting of fossils is a really important part of our geologists’ work.

“I would always say that people don’t put themselves at risk and have the relevant permission.

“I would encourage fossil collecting, but that is all about picking up material that is loose on the beach.

“The concern from my part is first and foremost for the safety of people.

“The second worry is that if you are losing significant information or not hearing about fossils, then you cannot add it to the greater understanding of the Yorkshire coastline 200 million years ago.

“These fossils have formed the basis for some of the most important museum collections in the world.

“Within these cliffs there are still big discoveries waiting to be made.

“There is a market for these things and there always has been.

“People will always want to own a piece of geology.

“But our coastline is dangerous at times, and people need to appreciate that.”

The Yorkshire coast became famous for its fossils in the mid 19th century, when the sea cliffs were mined for alum shale for industrial use and numerous discoveries were made of the remains of plesiosaurs – marine reptile like dinosaurs up to 10m to 20m long.

Many of the oldest fossils still in the cliffs date back 200 million years to the early Jurassic age when much of the region formed the bed of a warm tropical ocean.

About half of the coast is designated as a biological and geological special site of special scientific interest.

It is more than a decade since the “Dinosaur Coast” project was established to promote and conserve the geological heritage of the coastline.

Now experts are calling for an updated code of conduct to protect the sea cliffs from rogue collectors.

John Beech, coastal projects officer on the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “It’s not on a regular basis but we do hear reports of this happening.

“It happens on occasion all along the coast – anywhere the fossils are. It seems to be with chisels and hammers.

“The coast is very well visited by student groups and university groups and if they are searching underneath the cliffs they do wear hard-hats and high-visibility vests.

“If you are underneath the cliffs and you start to erode the toe of the cliff then obviously the material above can come down on top of you.

“We work with the relevant organisations like the Scarborough Museums Trust and Natural England.

“It is a concern and it is part of the our responsibility to manage the geo-heritage of the area, but it is a partnership.

“Perhaps it is time for a renewed emphasis on a code of conduct and time to ensure people start following that.”