Sheringham sinkhole: High Street reopens with street party

The hole in Sheringham High Street has meant restrictive access to some shops and restaurants

The high street of a seaside town, blocked for months after a sinkhole appeared, has held a street party to celebrate its reopening.

The sinkhole in the High Street, Sheringham, Norfolk, appeared in May, and became a tourist attraction, as visitors went to see the 2m-wide (7ft) hole.

Anglian Water completed three months of work, which included removing nearly 80 tonnes of debris, on Saturday.

Hundreds turned out for the event.

Sunday's party included live music, entertainment and sinkhole themed cakes.

One of the engineers managing the project, Dave King, became known by locals as 'sinkhole Dave' and was invited to cut the ribbon to reopen the road.

Hundreds of people including 'sinkhole Dave' took part in the community party to mark the re-opening of Sheringham's high street

Mr King said his team became part of the community during their time in the seaside town, even taking part in the local raft race.

He added: "To an extent I'll be sad to go home after being here so long. I haven't seen my own home or garden in three months. But it's been a good summer."

The sinkhole, which appeared at the start of the summer season posed problems for shops on the road but deputy mayor Liz Withington praised the town.

She said: "It couldn't have happened at a worse time, but it's been very much down to a lot of people pulling together."

T-shirts were produced to make some money from the sinkhole, which became a tourist attraction

Traders adapted as the sinkhole became a popular attraction selling sinkhole pie and 'I've visited the sinkhole' T-shirts.

Sheringham Town Council invited residents, visitors, local councillors and "anyone involved in the repair of the sinkhole" to bring their own tables, chairs and picnics and join in the party, which started in the street at 15:00 BST.

A spokeswoman from Anglian Water said the exact cause of the sinkhole was still unknown.

The sinkhole was about 16ft (5m) deep