A significant rockfall took place at West Bay in Dorset, the cliffed beach made famous by the drama ‘Broadchurch’. The collapse happened on 23rd January and led to the beach being blocked off. The cliffs comprise alternate beds of soft fine-grained crumbly sandstone, and harder sandy limestone. The sandstone is especially friable and the cliffs contain numerous enlarged vertical cracks from historical cambering. Together with high levels of precipitation in recent weeks, these factors are likely responsible for the rockfall.