A RESIDENT has accused the council of putting lives at risk following the massive cliff collapse in Newquay.

Emma Goldby says she has been able to use solicitors and geotechnical engineers to prove the “unstable” cliff along North Quay Hill is “unsafe”, but that Cornwall Council has resisted her calls to pin the cliff face with netting despite numerous landslips.

It follows the large cliff collapse between the Fly Cellars and Huer’s Hut on Saturday, January 31, at about 2.55pm, which saw five men and two dogs rescued by Newquay RNLI lifeboats.

Kieron English, 20, who was among those trapped, stated he escaped death “by inches.”

Mrs Goldby, who spent 10 years in the Royal Navy and now works as a mental health counsellor, has campaigned since 2013 for Cornwall Council to take action to stablise the cliff but the unitary authority has told her the area is “safe”.

She argues the council and highways, which has a responsibility to maintain the highway and a duty of care to protect the public, have “done nothing” although they have “all the evidence.”

Mrs Goldby says she first urged Cornwall Council to stabilise the cliff after a large landslide closed the coast path in 2013. The campaigner has since continued to appeal to the council to make the area safe following numerous cliff collapses over the years.

Mrs Goldy, who lives in King Edward Crescent, lost part of her garden following a major cliff collapse in 2020. Her property is now stable after the council contributed towards the stabilisation works. She added: “The council decided to pay out after it was proven that it was the failure of the “unstable” cliff face that dragged the garden down.”

But she is fearful someone will lose their life if the cliff isn’t stabilised by the council as the stretch is one of the busiest coast paths in Britain. The coast path is used regularly by school groups, walkers, surfers, coasteer companies and dog walkers. There is also a residential property beneath the cliff.

Mrs Goldby said she had been particularly alarmed to see Cornwall Council remove barriers and warning signs around two years ago despite several further landslips.

She said: “Someone could have died during the latest cliff collapse.

“2013 was the first proper landslip and there was another major one in 2020. It was proven the cliff was at fault. The council refused to do any maintenance work to the cliff face despite numerous landslips, so I sought legal advice.

“I got a solicitor involved and I paid for geotechnical engineer Dr Clive Gerring from RSK to survey the cliff along the coastal path.

“The in-depth report showed how the cliff is unsafe and unstable, which was presented to council highways after the landslip in 2020.

“The council knew how unsafe the cliff is, so they put safety barriers up and warning signs along the coast path, but they have been removed.

“I emailed the council about why they were removed as it doesn’t make the public aware about the dangers. I have had no responses to that.

“There have been several landslips since then including one in 2023 that covered the entrance of the residential house.

“Even though my house is stabilised I have continued to fight to get the rest of this coastal path safe.

“I have sent so many emails asking the council to pin back and net the surface of the cliff to protect the public.

“It is proven to be one of the busiest coastal paths in Britain. I have continued to ask the council why they are not fixing the cliff.

“I did get a response from a highways manager stating the coast path is safe. I have asked for reports that show the cliff is safe, but the council has refused to send me anything.”

Mrs Goldby sought support from the then Newquay Central Cornwall councillor who said they would contact the council, but she reportedly never heard anything more.

She also appealed for help from Newquay MP Noah Law about the safety issue.

She said: “I asked Mr Law on September 25, 2025, to see if he could contact the council to ask why it had not made the coast path safe. On December 1 Mr Law emailed me back saying he had a reply but apologised saying it was not a helpful response from them and that the only way forward was legal advice.”

Mr Law said: “I had raised the issue of the stability of this cliff to the council at the back end of last year.

“I am immensely relieved no one was hurt on this occasion but, particularly given the increasing volatility of weather events, the council, where it is responsible, must take these risks more seriously than ever - particularly where issues have already been raised by local residents. “More broadly, we are progressing our discussions with national government around improving Cornwall's infrastructure resilience.”

Mrs Goldby believes it is an “accident waiting to happen” unless the council stabilises the cliff face.

She said: “I do not know what more I can do.

“I have kept a record of landslips. I knew it was only a matter of time before there was another major cliff collapse.

“I know the council cannot fix every single cliff, but this area is different. If you walk under a cliff at a beach then that’s a risk you take but this is a designated coastal path. The sea does not come up to it. The council and highways have a responsibility to maintain the highway.

“In 2025 I received an email from the highways manager saying that if I did anything to maintain the cliff face they would take legal action against me.

“The council should be prosecuted for negligence.”

In response, Cornwall Council said it regularly inspects highways and public rights of way to ensure public safety.

A spokesperson said: “Safety is always our priority and following a geotechnical assessment of the site, we have closed a section of the South West Coast Path at Fly Cellars.

“A signed diversion is in place via King Edward Crescent. Please follow the diversion and respect the safety cordon, as the area remains unstable.

“As our inspections of the wider area also found several smaller areas of collapse, we have put barriers in place along a section of path and bridleway leading to Fly Cellars while we monitor the area.

“North Quay Hill has not been affected by this recent collapse and remains open.

“We regularly inspect our highways and public rights of way to ensure public safety. As part of this work, we also monitor and survey adjacent features owned by private landowners.

“These surveys consider the safety in relation to the highway and public rights of way. It is for landowners to carry out their own surveys to determine any risks to their own property.

“We wrote to Mrs Goldby in 2025 after vegetation from the slope was removed without the council’s knowledge or consent. Vegetation helps to maintain the stability of a slope and its removal can contribute to erosion and compromise this stability.

“Our letter sought to advise of the responsibility landowners have in relation to land within the highway boundary. It stated that carrying out works without permission could lead to complications, and in certain circumstances, may amount to an offence.

“In circumstances where landowners wish to carry out work on their land which may have an impact on the highway, we are happy to provide advice to ensure that this work does not impact on public safety.”

Kieron English, 20, was walking along the coast path with friend Rian Walker when the section of the cliff crashed down in front of them without warning on Saturday.

Kieron, a delivery rider, said: "Within about five minutes of us getting down there all we heard was a high pitched squill and we turned around and just seen the cliff collapse in front of us.

"I have never seen that happen before in my life. My other thought was 'how are we gonna get out?’

"Then I phoned 999 to get the police and the coastguard down.

"But as we were still waiting for the coastguard and the RNLI to come down and save us we kept seeing rocks and all the earth starting to fall again.

"If we were there 30 seconds to two minutes later, I think we would have lost our lives.

"I have never seen a cliff collapse or even a landslide ever in 20 years. I have never seen one.

"We were I would say between five or 10 feet away from the collapse.

"When we were rescued, I was just thinking about getting back to land safe and felt grateful to still be alive.”

Video by SWNS.