A SECOND major landslide in as many weeks at a popular Darwen beauty spot has led to further safety concerns.

The incident occurred in Sunnyhurst Woods after the first landslip emerged at the start of the month that undercut a United Utilities pumping station.

The second slip has led to even more path closures in the woodland while the water supplier carries out assessments to stabilise the area.

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It comes as the Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods has urged Darreners to ‘strictly obey’ path closures after it received reports of people ignoring them.

Chairman Hayley Kilpatrick said: “We are still unsure at this time how many paths will be closed but we know there will be more.

“We understand it is a ‘live’ work site and while work is taking place it might be necessary to close a path without delay.

“We just hope that the public strictly obey the signs and closures as there have been reports that people are ignoring these to get to the site, which is obviously a health and safety concern.”

It was announced last week by United Utilities that the damage caused by the first slip could take at least six months to fix.

The original landslide, described as ‘heartbreaking’ by the friends group vice chairman Brenda Cronshaw, caused several trees and earth to collapse into a stream.

Emergency power had to be temporarily connected to the pumping station near Earnsdale Reservoir to ensure the taps of 6,000 residents continued to flow.

Cllr Brian Taylor, borough and town councillor for Sunnyhurst, said that safety is paramount at this time so that engineers can carry out repairs as quickly as possible.

He said: “I think safety comes first. Another landslide, however small, just shows how unstable the land is there.

“Everyone need to obey these path closures and be sensible when they visit Sunnyhurst Woods.

“It is a shame this has happened but there is not much we can do except appreciate that this will take a long time to fix and help engineers by keeping well away from that area.”

A spokeswoman for United Utilities said: “The ground is unstable and it is not unusual for another landslide to occur after a major one has already.

“We are still on site continuing assessments and working out the best way to go about repairs.

“Further path closures will be put in place.”