The shocking sight met coast path walkers near the YHA youth hostel at Tintagel
The Parcelforce driver was found lying on the grass where passersby thought he was in shock at the car park next to the Tintagel youth hostel
This was the scene as a delivery van driver ended up feet from the edge of a cliff which dropped 200ft to the sea. A local coast path walker who came across the scene at Tintagel said the driver was about a metre from potential disaster.
However Parcelforce claimed the driver was never at risk, although an investigation has been launched.
A local resident, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Graham, said he and his wife had been for a regular walk on the coast path and were returning home mid-afternoon when they spotted the unusual view near the YHA youth hostel on Sunday afternoon (March 31).
He said: "We walk the coast path most days and see some really unusual things but this was perhaps the most unusual.
He was delivering to the youth hostel on the coast and we were coming back and the driver was lying on the grass. We thought he was in shock but he was lying back calling for a tow.
The Parcelforce delivery van ended up precariously perched at the top of a cliff at Tintagel
"The parking for the hostel is on slate shale and I think he dropped a wheel over the bank and there was no grip to back out.
"Had he gone for perhaps another metre the situation could have been very different; he would have gone down over a cliff about 200ft.
"It must have been a shock to him nonentheless."
The spot where the van got stuck is circled in red, showing how close it was to potential disaster (Image: Google Street View)
A spokesman for Parcelforce Worldwide said: "Despite what the picture may suggest, at no stage was our driver at risk in this incident. The van was some distance from the cliff edge and there is a grass verge in front of the vehicle where the driver was able to exit the vehicle in safety with no injuries.