Sinkhole not caused by storm flooding, says council

A sinkhole that appeared on Overstone Road in Northampton has been caused by building works, according to West Northamptonshire Council

A sinkhole that appeared near a house during Storm Bert was not caused by flooding, according to the local authority.

Anna Earnshaw, chief executive of West Northamptonshire Council, told the BBC the sinkhole resulted from unapproved structural work carried out on the property.

Neighbouring houses had to be evacuated on Monday as a precautionary measure.

Ms Earnshaw said the sinkhole was "not directly related to the flooding" but that a resident had carried out work "without having the right structural knowledge" causing one house to "collapse with ongoing issues".

Robert Demeter suspected there was something wrong on Saturday and had to leave his house on Sunday

Benita Magierska and her 18-month old daughter were one of a number of residents who had to leave their home because of the sinkhole.

She said: "We've been evacuated. There is a massive hole under the building. As far as we know they had some water issues on the basement.

"We didn't take anything with us because we were like 'you probably have to leave as quick as possible'."

'A bit afraid'

Another resident, Robert Demeter, said he was concerned it could affect other properties on the road.

"We are a bit worried because if one house collapses we could all be affected," he said.

"[Firefighters] told me about the danger of a gas leak or explosion, so we were a bit afraid."

In a statement, a spokesperson from West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said: "A structural engineer is assessing the building where the sinkhole has appeared on Overstone Road to determine whether it is safe for people to return to the location."

Anna Earnshaw said the decision to evacuate residents temporarily is a safety measure