Cliff warning in Cornwall after picnic at Hell's Mouth

The group of three individuals, dubbed "reckless" by one onlooker, can be seen having lunch on the steep cliff, with two others perched on a ledge not far above them, where there is a known fault.

The picture was taken at Hell's Mouth, near Hayle, over the Easter weekend and shows little to no earth underneath that would have saved them in the event of a rock fall.

The same area was previously the site for a large landslide in the area, captured on video by a geologist as part of the 100-metre high cliff peeled away.

The image was posted by Twitter user Cornish Dave under the handle @burngold. He wrote: "People visiting Cornwall really, really really need to think sometimes. I wouldn't think this location is a great spot for lunch.

"The location of an impressive landslide only a year ago."

An image showing the extent of the potential drop Picture: @burngold / SWNS

Other people also labelled the group's actions as careless.

One said: "I saw the three having the picnic first, then the couple at the top… where she’s sitting, there’s little to no earth under that slab."

Another added: "Honestly! Bloody idiots! It’s the poor people that have to rescue these idiots I feel sorry for. How people lack such common sense I’ll never know."

Permission has now been sought to use the image in local safety campaigns to highlight the danger of the cliffs.

Last year, Cornwall Council issued a warning after a series of landslides along the coast.

Cllr Rob Nolan said: "We don’t know when and where rockfalls or landslides may occur, and we don’t know if they will be small or large-scale events. But we do know that they can be deadly.

“Please keep away from any cliff edges and keep clear of the bottom of the cliff. We don’t want anyone to get hurt and we don’t want to put additional strain on our emergency services at this time.”