Camper slammed by coastguard after pitching tent on edge of 200ft cliff in 70mph Storm Francis winds
Height of stupidity! Daredevil camper is slammed by the coastguard after pitching his tent on the edge of 200ft cliff as Cornwall was battered by 70mph winds during Storm Francis
- Camper set up his flimsy canvas tent inches from edge of cliff at Portreath
- Coastguard slammed ‘utter stupidity’ and said lives of rescue teams put at risk
- The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said that cliff edges would be ‘slippery and crumbly after the large volume of rain recently around the coast’
By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline
Published: 04:59 EDT, 26 August 2020 | Updated: 05:03 EDT, 26 August 2020
A daredevil camper has been slammed by rescue services after pitching his flimsy tent on the edge of a sheer 200ft drop into the Atlantic while 70mph Storm Francis winds were howling.
They condemned the ‘utter stupidity’ of the camper and said he put the lives of rescue teams at risk as well as his own by pitching the tent on a Cornwall cliff.
One coastguard said: ‘If he was in his tent and it got blown over the cliff into the sea, people would have had to try to save him, and could die themselves.’
The small tent was put up just inches from the edge of the huge cliff at Portreath and even parked his bike outside the entrance.
A daredevil camper has been slammed by rescue services after pitching his flimsy tent on the edge of a sheer 200ft drop into the Atlantic while 70mph Storm Francis winds were howling
They condemned the ‘utter stupidity’ of the camper and said he put the lives of rescue teams at risk as well as his own by pitching the tent on a Cornwall cliff
After people reported him to the rescue services, he was ‘spoken to’ by the coastguard and advised to move his tent to a safer spot.
In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned the public that cliff edges will be ‘slippery and crumbly after the large volume of rain recently around the coast’.
They added: ‘So stay well away from cliff edges.’
In a message aimed at tourists walking dogs along cliff tops in the storms, they added ‘Keep your pet on a lead.’
There have been several incidents this summer where dogs have chased rabbits and plunged over cliffs.
