Sinkhole closes town centre road to mid-November

Thames Water said that a longer section of pipe needs repairing after it discovered "more defects than previously expected"

A town-centre road which was closed after a sinkhole opened following damage to an underground pipe will remain shut until mid-November.

Thames Water said a longer section of pipe needs repairing after "more defects than previously expected" were discovered by engineers at the site in Dorking.

The sinkhole first appeared in West Street - home to many of the Surrey town's antique shops - on 30 August.

Liz Fuller, from Dorking Business Improvement District, said: “The main impact will be on West Street, because it’s a building site. But businesses will carry on. The town is still open, the businesses are still here and they need to thrive."

Businesses have already said they are counting the cost of weeks of disruption to trade.

Paul Harman, from Harman’s Home Interiors, told BBC Radio Surrey: “We’re not getting the footfall of people coming down.

"We hope that we can get through this hard time.”

Engineers found a leak on a water pipe belonging to SES Water

Ms Fuller said: “Obviously, with any road closure, it means congestion on the outskirts of town, and that stops customers coming in."

Mr Harman said, however, that without the traffic those who do walk down West Street feel at ease and can take the time to “see things they might not have seen before”.

The road closure could even work to the advantage of businesses, he added.

Businesses in West Street are urging people to visit on foot

Thames Water said repairs crews will need to break the ground by hand to ensure the work is carried out safely.

The utility's spokesperson said: “Further investigations reveal that the damage is not limited to a single section of the surface water sewer pipe.

"Our engineers will need to replace a longer section of the pipe along West Street.”

A leak on a water pipe belonging to SES Water was also found.

The ground will need to be broken by hand to complete the work safely

SES Water said its work was scheduled to be completed on the Wednesday night and water was switched off to enable the repairs to take place.

Thames Water said it hopes to "speed up the process" including securing permits with the council for longer working hours.

“We are very sorry for disruption caused to local people during this time," the spokesperson said.

"Our customer representatives will continue to talk to businesses and residents to keep them updated on expected timings.”