People urged to stay away after huge landslide on Nefyn beach

People are being urged to avoid a beach on the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula after a large landslide.

It happened on Monday morning on Nefyn beach. Large parts of clifftop gardens - and even a wooden bench - were carried onto the beach in the fall.

  • ITV Wales' Rob Shelley reports live from the scene

Aerial photographs show homes situated on the top of the cliff close to where the landslide happened. Police say gardens belonging to those properties have been affected.

One resident told ITV News she heard the moment the landslide happened describing it sounding "like an earthquake."

In a tweet, North Wales Police said it was dealing with an incident and asked the public to avoid the area.

People are being asked not to stop and take photos whilst the emergency services attempt to make the site safe.

Pictures show how parts of the cliff fell away onto the beach and into the sea Credit: Caroline Lawton

One aerial photo shows the landslide appears to include at least part of a garden. There are several large houses near to the edge of the affected area.Writing on Facebook, Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts said: "Truly shocking to see the extent of the landslide below Rhodfa’r Môr, Nefyn today. I have spoken with the local councillor, Gruffydd Williams, and Cyngor Gwynedd officers to ascertain that a specialist assessment will be made regarding the condition of the cliffs, and to advise nearby residents about how best to remain safe."Experts said that the recent warm days and cold nights had caused cracks that were already there to get bigger meaning parts of the cliff face fell away.

Gwynedd Council also urged people to stay away from the area.

Local Salon owner, Christian Pilling was out walking his dogs on Nefyn Beach with his wife when he saw the landslide. He said, " I was going to go down to the beach about 20 minutes earlier, but I'm glad I didn't now because that's when it actually happened!"

"We were one of the first down there to see it, we go down there most days but it wasn't your average day. It was a shock and I'm hoping that no one was on the beach when it happened."

The coastguard and police have cordoned off the area. Credit: Christian Pilling

"It's massive, it's about 30 metres wide and it had gone all the way onto the beach into the sea."

"I've seen them before but nothing like that, and it was quite scary. There was still movement in the cliff face, clumps of sand and earth were still falling."

A nearby neighbour Steve Wilding-Hewitt said: "I've never seen anything like it. The police have cordoned a large area off to keep people away from the scene.

"We could see the coastguard shouting to someone in their garden to stay away from the edge because it was still moving.

"There are some gardens that have been affected. You can see a bench that was at the end of the one of the gardens has fallen into the mud below.

"There have been some rockfalls around this coastline for a number of months, but never anything like this. It is frightening."

Nefyn Beach itself is known as a hidden gem, known for its clear blue waters along with stunning views of the bay, and the distant three peaks of The Rival Mountains to the east.