Photo shows growing cracks on Easington coastal footpath

National Trust bosses shared photographs which show how much the fractures along the England Coast Path, near Easington Colliery have widened in recent days.
Photos show how the crack has developed along the coastline.Photos show how the crack has developed along the coastline.
Photos show how the crack has developed along the coastline.

The cracks are believed to have been caused by ongoing erosion aggravated by recent bad weather and these photos, posted just two days apart show how quickly the fractures are growing.

Part of the footpath, north of the nature reserve car park, has been closed.

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Posting a warning on social media, the National Trust said the footpath is ‘becoming unsafe’.

A National Trust spokesman added said: “A section of the England Coast Path near Easington Colliery in County Durham has become unsafe due to ongoing erosion, aggravated by wet weather.

“The National Trust is working closely with Durham County Council to reduce risk to the public.

“A stretch of the footpath where it heads north along the cliff tops from the nature reserve car park towards Shippersea Bay has been closed, and a diversion and safety signage put in place.”

The public is being warned to avoid the area.

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Mike Ogden, Durham County Council’s access and rights of way team leader, said: “As soon as we were made aware of the issue with this path, we worked with the National Trust to close it as soon as possible, in the interests of public safety.

“We have put up signs to advise of the closure and also established a signposted diversion route to ensure access to the England Coast Path is not affected.”