Published: March 18, 2012
New safety warning after two dogs tumble down cliffs on Brean Down

The National Trust has issued a fresh safety warning to dog owners using Brean Down after two animals tumbled down the cliffs and had to be rescued over the weekend.

National Trust staff scrambled down the rockface near Brean Fort on Sunday morning (March 18th) to help a dog owner reach his stranded Alsatian.

"We managed to reach the animal and pull it up on a tarpaulin, but sadly it had two broken legs," the Trust's Jason Harmer told Burnham-On-Sea.com.

"It serves as another reminder about the need to keep dogs on leads, well away from the cliff edges, when walking on the Down," he added.

Coastguards were called to help just before mid-day, the second time they have been called to Brean Down in 48 hours.

Burnham-On-Sea.com reported here on Friday that a spaniel had gone missing on Friday afternoon, prompting the owner to raise the alarm. Coastguards conducted a search of the cliffs amid concern the owner would risk his own safety by attempting to reach the animal. The dog was found safely on Saturday.

In 2010, the National Trust introduced several new signs on Brean Down, as pictured above, as we reported here, warning dog owners about the dangers of the steep cliffs following a series of incidents in which dogs were killed.

Pictured: A warning sign on Brean Down and, above, Burnham Coastguards on the Down this weekend