THE GRIM discovery of bones, including a skull, in debris beneath the churchyard at Newnham last week, has reignited fears about the stability of the cliff-face.
Police took away remains found by a fisherman who spotted bones protruding from mud and debris at Undercliff last Tuesday evening.
A spokesman said they were believed to be very old and had probably come from the churchyard above, from which there are spectacular views across the river.
Erosion was a constant riverside problem for Newnham, said parish council chairman Mrs Barbara Allsopp.
But there were particular difficulties relating to the churchyard and Undercliff, not least of all establishing who owned the cliff and who was responsible for its upkeep.
"There is no evidence of loss of land at the moment and a team erecting new fencing on the cliff edge have reported no problems.
"But there is clearly some erosion taking place and it would appear the cliff is being undercut. Given certain weather conditions it may be there could be a significant fall which could create problems for us," she said.
Mrs Allsopp said the ownership of the cliff face remained a grey area.
"We have great trouble in establishing the exact condition of the cliff face and who owns it. There is a school of thought that the trees and undergrowth which grow in profusion there offer some protection against erosion while others believe that once they have reached a certain size they present other problems because given certain weather conditions they could create slippage and take part of the cliff face away," she said.
Mrs Allsopp said the parish council was aware of the problem but could only monitor it on an annual basis and check what movement, if any, had taken place.
"It really is a terrible dilemma. It would be a hugely expensive problem to correct but for the moment all we can do is examine what is taking place and there is no evidence in the churchyard at the moment that anything much is happening," she added.