Huge sinkhole swallows up more of Surrey street

Godstone High Street has been closed after a large sinkhole appeared in the road

A huge sinkhole in a street in Surrey is continuing to grow and swallow up more road, with the county council declaring a major incident.

The original hole first appeared in Godstone High Street late on Monday night, growing to at least 65ft (20m) long by Tuesday lunchtime.

A second opening has now appeared, with a car teetering on the brink and the owner unable to move it.

Families have been evacuated from their homes over fears of an explosion caused by exposed cables, with one resident saying the street now "sounded like a waterfall".

The evacuated properties were built about three years ago, on the site of a former sand quarry.

Local residents also believe there are caves underneath the area.

Noosh Miri and her family were among those evacuated from the area by police.

"We got a violent knocking on the door. As I opened the door, it sounded like I was in a waterfall because the sinkhole was right in front of my doorstep," she said.

"The policewoman told us we needed to get out straight away, and in the space of 10 minutes, we got the kids dressed, we grabbed the nearest things that we could find."

The family have now been found temporary accommodation by their insurers, but she said she was prepared "for a good couple of months" before being able to move back in.

The sinkhole is still threatening to cause damage to homes and property on Wednesday

Speaking to Radio 5 Live, Ms Miri added: "Our house is not secure at all. At the moment we don't know the extent of the damage but we do know we won't be going home for some time."

She later suggested the sink hole could be linked to mining caves as well as heavy-loaded vehicles which sometimes made their home "rattle" when they came past.

Around seven miles of tunnels sit beneath Godstone, according to the charity Surrey Hills Society.

Ms Miri added: "We think it's a combination of different things that have led to here – it's not a simple burst pipe or the caves or lorries."

Pete Burgess, of the Wealden Cave and Mines Society, said a quarry marked "sand pit" can be seen on 19th century maps of land directly under the sinkhole.

He added that sand from the pit was dug out and used for building and gardening purposes.

Other residents said the sinkhole had opened adjacent to "brand new flats" which had been built in the area.

Another added that they had been forced to sleep in their car in a nearby car park after being evacuated in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Businesses in the area, including Godstone Pharmacy, said many shops had closed and that staff had been making deliveries on foot to ensure vulnerable customers received their medication.

Staff member Mrulal Gudadhe said the business had seen nearly no customers walk through the door since Monday.

He added: "The pharmacy is completely dead. There are no people. Streets are empty and everything is closed. But we are open, we are still working."

• What is a sinkhole and how does it form?

As a result of the major incident, the operation is now being managed by Surrey Local Resilience Forum, with Surrey County Council (SCC) as the lead agency.

Investigations were continuing to make the area safe and to repair utilities, SCC said.

Carl Bussey, the council's assistant director for safer communities, said: "Residents from within the cordon – around 30 properties – are being supported by Tandridge District Council with advice around accommodation."

In an updated statement, Mr Bussey added that properties in the wider area "have access to water and power as normal" and affected properties had been confined to within the cordon.

More permanent repairs will be carried out "once the site is deemed safe to work in", he added.

The Environment Agency said there was no evidence of pollution caused by the hole.

Godstone MP Claire Coutinho thanked engineers for their work and said her team would be in "regular contact" with Tandridge Council and Surrey County Council to ensure those evacuated "receive the necessary support in the coming days and weeks".

The sinkhole had grown to 65ft (20m) by Tuesday lunchtime

A second smaller hole has also opened on the opposite side of the road

On Wednesday morning, SES Water said it had restored supplies to properties, but warned water may appear discoloured.

The company said there was no risk to health and customers would receive compensation in their bills.

Repairs are expected to take several months.

What can cause sinkholes?

The cause of the sinkhole remains unclear, but experts at the British Geological Survey (BGS) say it could be caused by a burst water main.

Andrew Farrant, BGS regional geologist in south east England, says that weak sandstone lies beneath the village and this would normally be stable, but if there was a sudden influx of water it could "flush out weak sandstone bedrock".

This would create a void and then the overlying ground would collapse into it.

Mr Farrant suspects the water could come from a burst water main in the local area.

Locals have raised concerns about a local sand quarry and historic mining activities, which had created caves near the village.

The old sand mine has now been filled in so BGS think it's unlikely to be the reason, but they say they cannot rule out that there are other sand mines not mapped or that the roof of a historic cave has collapsed somewhere else which cause the initial failure of the water pipe.

Additional reporting by Science reporter Esme Stallard.

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