A family of four were rushed to hospital after being struck by falling rock while fossil hunting on a beach.

A woman, her partner and her two daughters, aged seven and eight, were all injured when part of a 200ft cliff suddenly collapsed above them.

The man, in his 40s, was struck on the head by a falling rock and was lucky not to have been killed.

His partner, aged in her mid 30s, suffered a broken hip, spinal injuries and lost consciousness after being hit.

The two girls were hit on the shoulder and back and were also badly hurt and in deep shock.

Members of the public on the beach raised the alarm at 4.30pm yesterday and a coastguard rescue team and ambulances dashed to the beach at Charmouth.

Upon arrival the emergency services quickly established the mother was the most seriously injured. She was immediately flown to the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester by air ambulance.

One of the two girls had to be carried into a coastguard helicopter. Her sister and the unnamed man joined her in the aircraft.

Graham Turner, of West Bay coastguard, said: “The incident happened about one mile east of Charmouth at a place called Stonebarrow Down.

“These are cliffs that are constantly eroding and there have been a series of rock falls there for the last few years.

“The family were fossil hunting on the beach as were a lot of other people but they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“They are big cliffs there and by the time the rocks have fallen from the top they can cause quite a lot of damage. The woman was the most seriously injured and was taken away on a spinal board and was unable to talk.

“Her partner was hit on the side of the head by a lump of rock and he was very lucky that he wasn’t struck on top because it would have killed him.

“One of the two girls was hit by a small piece of rock on her right shoulder. Both of them were in deep shock because of what had happened to their mum. I carried one of them into the helicopter that had landed on the beach.

“There are some signs up along the beach about rock falls. I would say there have been more landslips there in the last three years than the last 20.”

Ros Evans, watch manager at Portland Coastguard, said: “This has been a clearly very traumatic afternoon for this family and we hope and pray they all make a speedy recovery.”

The incident happened three weeks after a a nine-year-old boy and a girl aged 11 escaped death when they were struck by large falling rocks further along the Dorset coast at Lulworth.