English, who has lived in the seaside town for only three months, said he had asked his brother, who used to live there, for ideas on places with good sea views and his brother suggested trying a spot near the Fly Cellars.
English said they heard a noise “like a high pitched squeal”.
“Next thing we know, the whole cliff collapsed in front of us,” he said.
Three separate groups ended up stranded together on a concrete pad with no safe way out. The tide was too high to attempt swimming and the cliff was too unstable to climb.
English said: “A couple of seconds before and we could have lost all our lives.”
Coastguards said the section of coastpath was impassable and “the public are requested to avoid the area for the time being”.