A historic Herefordshire castle which suffered a major tower collapse earlier this year is at immediate risk of further rapid deterioration, it has been warned.
Clifford Castle, near Hay-on-Wye, is a new addition on Historic England's 2026 Heritage at Risk Register, which describes its condition as "very bad" and declining.
The privately owned castle has been placed in risk category B, meaning there is an "immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric".
However, Historic England says a solution has been agreed but has not yet been implemented.
The assessment comes after part of the castle's remaining tower collapsed following prolonged heavy rain in February.
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Owner Keith Hill told the Hereford Times at the time that he had walked from his nearby home to the castle and was shocked to discover that an entire wall of the 30ft tower had come down.
He said the collapse had affected what had appeared to be one of the most stable parts of the structure.
Mr Hill subsequently closed the castle to visitors because he said he could not take the risk of allowing people onto the site.
He and his wife had bought their home and the castle ruins around 15 years earlier and had worked to bring the once heavily overgrown site back into community use.
Before the collapse, the privately owned castle had opened to the public for 28 days each year and hosted visits from local primary schools and walking groups.
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The couple were working with Historic England following the collapse to establish how the remaining structure could be stabilised.
Clifford Castle is both a scheduled monument and a grade I listed building.
The medieval castle overlooks the River Wye close to the Welsh border and formed part of a network of fortifications controlling the Welsh Marches.
The motte-and-bailey castle was first established shortly after the Norman Conquest, while the surviving stone ruins include parts dating from the medieval period.
It is also associated with Rosamund Clifford, traditionally known as "Fair Rosamund", who was a mistress of King Henry II.
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