A large part of the shoreline at St Peter’s Pool has been fenced off amid fears of rocks falling from the jagged cliff face.

Readers of the Times of Malta have in recent weeks raised concerns that large cracks and hanging rocks along the cliff surrounding the popular bay, situated in the Delimara area, posed a serious danger to bathers.

“People are sunbathing and sitting right under the cliff, and it’s only a matter of time until a boulder falls on someone and we have a tragedy on our hands,” reader Peter Abela had told the Times of Malta.

The issue was picked up by the Tourism Ministry after it was flagged by a concerned swimmer last month.

A spokesman for the ministry said an independent architect had been commissioned to draft a report on the cliff face and a number of different government departments had been alerted.

The architect recommended closing access to the part of the bay beneath the cliffs after an on-site inspection found that rocks regularly fell from above.

The Infrastructure Ministry said it had roped in the Department of Public Works to erect signs instructing bathers to stay away from the cliffs due to falling rocks.

This time last year, a nine-year-old girl was critically injured when rocks fell from a cliff face into the sea. The incident, which happened in the Veċċja area of St Paul’s Bay, saw parts of a cave collapse as the girl was swimming inside. Another girl, also swimming close by, missed being buried by mere inches and escaped with a few scratches.

Four young boys had also been splashing in the cave minutes before the collapse, eyewitnesses said, but left to play elsewhere with minutes to spare. Residents in the area told this newspaper that they had been warning authorities of cracks in the cave for several years.

An independent architect has recommended closing off access to parts of the St Peter’s Pool cliff face.