A SECOND sinkhole has opened up on a street where a giant 65ft crater forced homeowners to evacuate.
Horrified neighbours told of the “terrifying” evacuation after at least one garden was engulfed in Surrey.
The first sinkhole appeared on MondayReuters
The giant crater is in Godstone, SurreyReuters
It has engulfed at least one gardenReuters
Godstone High Street and surrounding roads have been closed and at least 30 homes forced to evacuate amid fears of an “explosion” caused by exposed cables.
The original hole first appeared in the high street on Monday evening – growing to at least 65ft (20m) long by Tuesday lunchtime.
Christine Duncan, 57, who has lived in her home just outside the cordon for over two decades, says she is still in shock at what has happened.
She said: “My husband was down the pub and saw a trickle of water. Then the sinkhole just suddenly appeared.
“I have lived here for 24 years, and I have never seen anything like this before. I am still in shock. I can’t make heads or tails of it.
“I think it is to do with the amount of lorries that drive through here. We are only a small village.
“I am very worried about how long it is going to take to fix the road. My main concern is that there are a lot of vulnerable people around here and there is a care home just down the road.”
Graham Brookes, 94, has lived in his nearby home for nine years – but says he has been involved in the area for decades.
He agreed that the main worry is for older people who will have to walk a long way to get around the cordon.
He added: “We realised something was wrong because the water pressure was down. Then we found out what had happened and realised how lucky we were to still have water.
“It is not going to be an easy job to fix. It will affect everyone coming into Godstone.
“The village will be very badly impacted by this. But we will get through it. It will mainly effect older people because they will have to walk all the way around.
“The local businesses will also be hit hard as they can’t get vans in.
“It has already impacted the amount of people around. I went to the supermarket earlier and the car park was half empty when it is normally packed.”
Paul Ryan, 53, has lived in his home on the High Street for nine years.
He said: “For the first 24 hours it was a major inconvenience. I was quite surprised, but this has been on the cards for a while.
“The locals have been worried for a while about the HGVs going through the village. They use this road as a bypass to the M25 and come down at 60mph.”
A 40-year-old local, who wished to remain anonymous, says she fears that her home will be the next to be evacuated.
The resident of five years said: “We were without water for a considerable amount of time. We thought that water would be delivered to us but instead we had to go to a water station.
“Our water finally came back on at about 3am this morning.
“It is a very scary situation. The sinkhole is huge so we are quite worried that we are going to be evacuated.
“The sinkhole will probably get even bigger which is terrifying. It is just a very upsetting time.”
Carl Bussey, Surrey County Council Assistant Director for Safer Communities said: “We are working together with emergency services and utility companies, as well as our highways colleagues and Tandridge District Council, to protect the public and property in the area.
“Investigations are continuing to make the area safe and to repair utilities, and we ask that people remain away from the vicinity while that important work is ongoing. We will keep people updated as the situation develops.
“Residents from within the cordon – around 30 properties – are being supported by Tandridge District Council with advice around accommodation. Highways diversions are also in place.
“The Local Resilience Forum will continue to meet throughout this incident to ensure everything is being done to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]