The heartstopping pictures show the man - believed to be in his 50s - as he stands on the crumbling cliff edge with his tripod camera pointing towards the sea.

Looming above a perilous drop into the choppy North Sea, the photographer appears unphased as he eyes up the perfect snap of a group of seals in the water off Flamborough, Yorkshire.

He and a fellow photographer were stood on the Holderness Coastline - the fastest eroding coastline in Europe - which collapses at a rate of 1.8 metres a year.

The photographer was stood on fast-eroding cliffs in Yorkshire

Photographer Calvin Taylor Lee, 44, said that the man ignored warning signs as he moved to the cliff edge after spotting a gang of seals off the coast.

Calvin said: "There's always one who tries to be smart and get a step closer. Why don't you take the picture and crop it? He's standing on less than half a foot of cliff. It's not worth the risk.

"If that thing cracks then you're going down, it's just waiting for someone to fall. The cliff is sliding down and then after 20 metres there's another cliff going down to the sea."

Photographer criticised for standing on edge of fast-eroding cliffs at Flamborough Head to get closer to seal colony