Car 'sucked' into sinkhole in Nottinghamshire

Sally Hall said she was "frightened" when this happened

A driver has told how a sinkhole created by a burst water pipe "sucked the car across the road".

Sally Hall said she was attempting to drive through an overflowing drain in Epperstone at about 06:45 GMT.

She said she was "frightened" when the water came "flooding in over my knees" and had to climb to safety.

Severn Trent Water (STW) said the fault had caused water supply issues in the village and wider areas, including Bingham and Radcliffe-on-Trent.

Mrs Hall said she was attempting to drive through an "overflowing drain"

Mrs Hall said: "It was quite dark and there was a puddle of water. I thought it was a drain overflowing so went to drive through it.

"Then all of a sudden the car was sucked across the road and I ended up in the hole in the road.

"The water came flooding in over my knees and eventually the water was above the dashboard.

"It was fairly hard to escape... the car kept locking and unlocking itself so I had to get out of the passenger side which was difficult."

Mrs Hall said the water came "flooding in over my knees and eventually the water was above the dashboard"

Gerald Douglas, who lives opposite the sinkhole, said: "It sounded like an explosion at the time and thought it must be a distant one.

"I came out and the lane was in floods... It was quite a surprise on a Sunday morning."

Mr Douglas said the "flow of water was extreme" and drifted to about 20m away from the car.

The sinkhole was visible after the water drained away

Mrs Hall said it was difficult to climb to safety

The water company said the sinkhole in the road was an "extreme example" of what happens when a large pipe bursts.

Resident James Gunn said woke up at about 05:00 GMT to find the downstairs of his home flooded

Most of Mr Gunn's garden was flooded after a water pipe ruptured in his village

James Gunn said he woke up in the early hours to find the downstairs of his home flooded, as did many other residents in the village.

"It's a crisis in some ways, but the village has reacted marvellously," he said.

"The same thing happened 30 years ago - hope it doesn't happen again."

Mr Gunn added that his home "will dry out, but it's a nuisance" to clean it up.

Mr Gunn said it was not the first time a water pipe has burst in the Nottinghamshire village

Mr Gunn said his home "will dry out, but it's a nuisance" to clean it up

Up to 20,000 homes have been affected by the burst pipe, including East Bridgford, Upper Saxondale and Flintham.

"Due to the size of the water pipe, a lot of villages and towns in the area have been left without water," STW said.

"We've managed to get more people back on supply... and we've got teams working hard to get everyone else on as soon as possible."

STW expects all affected homes to have their supply restored by 21:00 GMT.