A LARGE crack which has formed at the top of an already crumbling cliff face has caused safety concerns among seafront walkers.

The Naze, in Walton, has been threatened by the impacts of coastal erosion for years, and many fear it will inevitably become engulfed by the sea.

During a recent stroll along the cliffs 66-year-old Frinton resident, John Bebb, spotted a worrying looking split dividing a section of rock not far from the edge.

In recent years large chunks of the deteriorating cliff face have unnervingly fallen on the beach below and Mr Bebb is worried the same could happen again.

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He said: “I was surprised to see the crack because it is some 30-metres long on a regular footpath that has not be cordoned off as a safety measure.

“Man may be able to marginally effect these processes, but time will prevail.”

Back in 2011, Crag Walk, a lengthy £1.2million walkway sited along the beach in front of the southern end of the Naze cliffs, was built to shore up the wall of rock.

Since then numerous attempts have been made secure the future of the Naze and last summer The Naze Protection Society launched a renewed £20,000-a-year campaign.

The group, which has generated £18,000 so far, hopes to install a rock filled gabion basket wall at the north end of the cliffs and planning permission has been granted.

However, the process is currently being delayed as a result of an ongoing wait for a licence from the Marine Management Organisation.

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David Eagle, acting chairman of the Naze Protection Society, fears the longer it takes for work to be carried out, the harder it will be to sustain the cliffs.

“This latest crack I reckon is a result of rainfall building up the weight in the cliff and causing it to shear and high January tides,” he added,

“With planning through for the gabion project and two other proposed projects for the same north cliff area, it is hoped these will be installed in 2022..

“But the MMO delay will result in irrevocable further loss of cliff frontage that would have been protected, so this situation needs resolving.”