Young girl is dragged back from 400ft drop at edge of cliff

This is the terrifying moment a curious little girl is dragged back from the edge of a 400ft cliff after she peers over.

In a series of shocking photographs, the youngster was seen looking over the edge of a cliff in Birling Gap, near Eastbourne, today.

An adult notices that the girl – who’s hair is blowing in the strong wind –  is just inches away from the sheer drop and rapidly pulls her back. 

Tourists have faced repeat warnings about the dangers of the East Sussex location, with its crumbling chalk cliffs frequently giving way in bad weather.

This is the terrifying moment a curious little girl is dragged back from the edge of a 400ft cliff in Sussex after she peers over

The youngster is pulled to safety and the group walk away from the edge after their close call

Tourists have faced repeat warnings about the dangers of the East Sussex location (stock images pictured), with its crumbling chalk cliffs frequently giving way in bad weather

But stark warnings urging people to beware of the perilous cliffs didn’t deter the hoards of visitors today. 

‘Wall to wall’ sunny blue skies and scorching highs saw Britons flock to beauty spots across parts of the country after a wet and windy start to the weekend kept crowds off the beaches. 

And rural locations are set to be equally as popular tomorrow with highs of 77F (25C) and 79F (26C) expected in the south east and London making it hotter than Ibiza and Marbella, Spain.

Elsewhere on the country’s coastlines temperatures are expected to stay at around a moderate 70F (21C) to 72F (22C) with clear sunny skies, meaning many UK beauty spots could be set to see a repeat of Wednesday’s scenes, as 80F temperatures saw clashes between locals and sun-seeking tourists on the hottest day of the year so far.  

But stark warnings urging people to beware of the perilous Birling Gap cliffs didn’t deter the hoards of visitors today

Many flocked to Birling Gap to enjoy the views over the ocean, even though the cliffs are dangerous

Busy car parks and verges as people park at Birling Gap near Eastbourne as people travel to beaches, parks and beauty spots with lockdown measures eased

Cars spill from car parks and line the road at Birling Gap near Eastbourne as people travel to beaches, parks and beauty spots with lockdown measures eased

One seaside town has buckled and – despite fears about the virus spreading – and will reluctantly open its public toilets this holiday weekend to stop ‘invaders’ using the beach as a toilet.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s leader Carl Smith said: ‘With the bank holiday weekend and second week of relaxed restrictions bringing the increased possibility of more tourists venturing further afield, we have decided to re-open a limited number of seafront toilets at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston from tomorrow for emergency use in the interests of public health, which remains our top priority. 

‘Provision of hand sanitiser in those toilets and more regular cleansing, along with posters encouraging hand-washing and social distancing, will help to manage the risk of inflection as far as practically possible.’

‘Wall to wall’ sunny blue skies and scorching highs saw Britons flock to beauty spots across parts of the country today after a wet and windy start to the weekend kept crowds off the beaches 

‘But while the council is opening public toilets, their message remains unchanged: tourists should be sensible and avoid the coast.’

Mr Smith added ‘I would ‘like to give a big thank you to the vast majority of usual tourists who listened to our clear advice, acted responsibly and stayed away.

‘While we can’t stop people from coming, ‘stay away, save lives’ is still Great Yarmouth’s clear message.’

To get this message across, the council’s seafront carparks and attractions will remain shut.

Waxham Sands holiday park’s head of security Fred Folkes said that there were plenty of signs and barriers warning people the park was shut last weekend, but families ‘ignored them anyway’.

He said the park had been ‘subject to an invasion of conceited’ day trippers.

Many climbed over locked gates and urinated on the dunes of Waxham Sand’s private half-mile beach.