Shock as giant sinkhole opens up in UK

People were evacuated from their homes in St. Albans overnight after a large sinkhole opened up at the end of a driveway.

“It wasn’t deep but we think he injured his leg and then fencing was put up around it to cordon it off”.

The 66ft hole was discovered in the ancient Roman town of St Albans early this morning, forcing six families to leave their homes.

Gas, water and electricity supplies in the area have been turned off, leaving 58 houses without any utilities.

Last month, a sinkhole estimated to be 200 metres long, 50 metres wide and nine metres deep at its deepest point, appeared at Inskip Point, near Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia, in one of the more dramatic examples of how sinkholes can appear with little warning.

They had previously been called by residents concerned about a smaller crater which had opened up in their street, which was due to be filled in.

Rosemary said: “My husband came back in the night from line dancing and I heard this noise”.

She said: ‘I noticed a hole when we went for a walk last week.

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire County Council told The Independent that they had been notified about a small hole on the footpath on Monday and work had been scheduled to fill it in this morning.

“The children can walk to school, but when you’re a mum with four children it’s not easy”. “Following our inspection, there was no reason to suspect that the hole would collapse”.

VIDEO: Engineers are at the scene of the sinkhole in St Albans… Those affected have been been evacuated to Batchwood Leisure Centre.

According to Peter Hobbs, an engineering geologist with the British Geological Survey, sinkholes are caused by the dissolution of rock, such as chalk.

A 12m hole opened up in Manchester in August, causing a major route near the city to be shutdown.

Karstic features are also common in the United Kingdom on the chalk of south-east England, on salt in the centre and north-east of the country, and particularly on the gypsum that underlies parts of eastern and north-eastern England, especially around Ripon and Darlington, and in the Vale of Eden.