4:50pm Tuesday 9th February 2010
By Ruth Lumley
A charity's half marathon route has been altered just weeks before the run after falling debris made part of the route unsafe.
A section of the footway of Undercliff Walk, from Asda at Brighton Marina to the boat yard, has been closed by Brighton and Hove City Council's coastal defence unit after large pieces of chalk and flint started to fall from the Black Rock cliffs having come loose during the severe winter weather.
Just as the Sussex Beacon fundraising team was celebrating reaching full capacity for entries, the news came that the existing route would need to be changed for safety reasons.
The council carried out an inspection on January 25 following concerns that further extreme weather could cause more rubble to fall.
It has now been decided that a one kilometre section of Undercliff Walk will have to remain closed while further monitoring takes place over the next few weeks.
The Black Rock cliffs were closed to the public in 2001 when storms caused parts of them to crumble and fall onto Undercliff Walk.
In 2005 professional abseilers from building firm CJ Thorne, based in Uckfield, sunk bolts into the rocks which was aimed at holding the rocks in place for the next 50 years.
Parts of the cliff left hanging after previous rock falls were also trimmed back and fences were placed at the bottom to collect any landslides. It was reopened later that year.
The Sussex Beacon Half Marathon, now in its 20th year, takes place on Sunday February 21, at 9.45am.
For more information go to www.beaconhalf.org.uk.
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