People are being warned to stay away from a cliff face which is expected to collapse onto the beach below.

The alert has been issued for West Street Beach at Watchet, where allotments on the cliff top saw the ground drop by more than two metres in early April.

The allotments were closed and fenced off along the boundary, with notices warning the public to stay off the land.

The town council has now been told by experts that the movement of the land and cliff has worsened and a large fall of rocks onto the beach below is expected soon.

The council said in a statement: “Because further land slip depends on several key factors, such as rainfall and sub-zero temperatures it is not possible to predict exactly when the major cliff fall will occur, but must be considered as imminent.

“We therefore wish to reinforce the warning to public to stay away from the cliff face when on West Street beach. Warning notices have been erected by Somerset West & Taunton Council on the West Street slipway at the eastern entrance to the beach.”

The council has issued a photograph of the part of the beach most likely to be affected.

The warning follows surveys carried out by the council’s contractor Geckoella Ltd.

The town council statement said: “In early April 2022, WTC experienced subsidence of more than 2 metres on allotment land at West Street, Watchet.

"On health and safety grounds the allotments were immediately closed and temporarily fenced off, with tenants being helped to safely retrieve materials prior to the area being closed to all. Recently semi-permanent Heras fencing has been erected along the entire boundary to the allotments, with notices reinforcing the public not to enter the land which is adjacent to the cliff edge.

“In order to assess when the very unstable land and adjoining cliff is likely to fall onto West Street Beach, we have been contracting Geckoella Ltd, our Watchet based experts on geological and ecological matters, to undertake ongoing surveys to alert us of timing.

“Their latest report indicates that movement of the land and cliff has significantly worsened, so much so that large scale rock falls onto the beach immediately below the allotments are imminent.”

The coast path between Watchet and Blue Anchor has been closed since a cliff fall in 2020 which caused a section near Warren Farm falling into the sea, and other parts showing signs of being unstable. A new safe route has now been identified and work has been under way to divert the path.

The B3191 which runs along the west Somerset coast via Blue Anchor has been closed several times in recent years due to coastal erosion, including after a landslide at the end of 2019.

Properties at The West Bay Park caravan park in Watchet have been repositioned further away from the edge after a cliff fall in February 2020.