Chalk that has fallen from Dover’s White Cliffs on Sunday and Monday has blocked the stairs to Langdon Bay.

Coastguard Paul Evans said it unlikely they can ever be used again and he has issued a safety warning for people walking from St Margaret’s Bay to Langdon to make sure they check the tides because they can no longer use the stairs.

What he described as a “small fall of chalk” happened between Sunday and Monday directly underneath the Coastguard Station, between Langdon Cliffs and Dover.

He said: “Chalk from the Langdon staircase fell and the bottom section has been affected.

Kent County Council has had to erect a fence to stop people going through.

“The path has disappeared.

“It’s unlikely it can be used again.”

For updated pictures, see the East Kent Mercury and Dover Mercury on Thursday.