There'll be boulders over the White Cliffs of Dover

Tonnes of cliff-face sheared off near Crab Bay (PA)

A large chunk of the White Cliffs of Dover has collapsed into the English Channel after a "substantial" rockfall, the coastguard said.

Tonnes of cliff-face sheared off near an area known as Crab Bay. The collapse may have been caused by rain freezing after being absorbed into the chalk and then expanding, weakening it.

A Dover coastguard spokesman said: "It appears that it crumbled from the top at high water so there was no one down below at the time. It was quite a substantial fall.

"No one was injured but it does serve as a reminder that if people are walking along the cliff-top or underneath, that the cliff can crumble away." The landmark, popularised by Vera Lynn's wartime song "The White Cliffs of Dover", has suffered large rockfalls before, most significantly in January last year.