A council has declared a major incident after a large sink hole opened up in a Surrey village. The hole first appeared on Godstone High Street on Monday night after a water pipe burst, growing to at least 20 metres long (65ft) by midday on Tuesday. A number of homes have since been evacuated and at least one garden has fallen into the whole. Godstone High Street remains closed between the Oxted Road and Bletchingley Road junctions and residents have been urged to avoid the area.
Some residents living within the cordon were told to leave their homes as “quickly as possible” on Tuesday over fears exposed electric cables may cause an explosion. A second sinkhole has now reportedly opened up at the site on the opposite side of the street. Carl Bussey, Surrey County Council 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. Highways diversions are also in place.”.
It is understood the properties were built on the site of a former sand quarry around three years ago. Residents believe there are caves underneath the area. One woman told the BBC her family were among those told to evacuate from the area by police. Noosh Miri 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.”.
Ms Miri’s family have found temporary accommodation but they believe it could be months until they are able to move back into their home. Operations are now being managed by the Local Resilience Forum, supported by Surrey County Council. Water and electricity supply issues have now been resolved, but road diversions remain in place. A spokesperson for SES Water previously said: “Unfortunately, the burst has impacted water supplies to homes in the area and we’re sorry for the disruption this is causing customers.
