Inquiry as rocks fall from cliff into garden

Inquiries have begun after loose rocks tumbled off a sea cliff and into the garden of a couple's weekend home.

A specialist cliff inspection team commissioned by Scarborough Council has begun its investigations into the rock fall, which happened on the west side of Whitby above Khyber Pass.

No one was injured in the rock fall but the council says it was significant enough to warrant its immediate attention.

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Scarborough Council's head of technical services John Riby said: "Obviously in these early stages we are unsure as to what the cause of the slippage was and we are awaiting the report from our contractors to tell us more.

"We are liaising closely with the owners of the affected property to keep them up to speed with

our progress and we thank them for their understanding at this time.

"While this rock fall is significant enough to warrant our immediate attention, it is important to stress that rock falls of this nature are not unusual on this stretch of coastline and we do not want members of the public to worry unduly."

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The cliff inspection team has visited the site to assess the extent of the fall and will be submitting a report about its findings to the council in the near future.

The council says once it has received the report, it will consider the recommendations and act upon them.

Council officers have also confirmed that it is likely more loose material will need to be removed from the cliff before the existing rocks which have tumbled off the cliff are taken away.

This exploratory work is expected to take place early in the New Year.

The rock fall happened last weekend.

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Temporary safety barriers have been erected at Spion Top since the incident but the council says they will now be removed because it is clear that the slip has not encroached upon the surrounding public space.