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Two adults and child warned after camping on Yorkshire cliff edge

A couple and a child have been visited by emergency services after pitching a tent on a cliff edge in a stretch of the North York Moors known for landslips.

Police officers were alerted as the family’s trip breached Covid-19 regulations, the coastguard said on Saturday, but it is unclear whether they were fined.

Rescue teams from Staithes and Whitby coastguards responded to reports of two adults and a child camping on the Cleveland Way section of the coastline. In a statement posted on social media, Staithes coastguard said they had issued “safety advice to two adults and a child camping on the cliff edge … due to the dangerous location of their tent, especially with recent landslips”.

The coastguard added: “An officer from North Yorkshire police also attended due to breach of coronavirus restrictions.”

Overnight stays away from home, other than for essential reasons, are illegal under the rules of the national lockdown. Under the coronavirus restrictions, holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed. This includes staying in a second home, caravan or boat, unless it is a primary residence.

The coastguard asks that those walking along the Cleveland Way stay on designated footpaths.

Last month, coastguard rescue teams responded to landslides and cliff falls at Runswick Bay, when a section of cliff weighing more than 200 tonnes fell on to the beach below. Another landslip followed, leaving an overhang, according to the Yorkshire Post.

Staithes coastguard advised that people avoid walking under the cliffs or close to the edge as teams were receiving daily reports of collapses. “The cliff fall comes with no warning and being on the receiving end of even a small avalanche can be fatal,” it warned.