Chaos has descended on a quiet street in Surrey after an enormous sinkhole erupted, leaving residents temporarily homeless.
Two huge chasms opened up on the road in the picturesque village of Godstone on Monday night. Residents never imagined the land their homes, which sell for £500,000, were built on would suddenly give way – but now life has completely changed.
Locals fear there may be caves under the estate, which was built on a former sand quarry only three years ago. And while some have already fled their properties, terrified that they might suddenly sink below the ground, others are defiantly staying put.
The first hole appeared in Godstone High Street late on Monday, with residents living in 30 properties closest to the sinkhole evacuated that night. Then, just after midnight, police told people living in William Way to “get out as quickly as possible” over fears of an explosion caused by exposed cables.
A 100-metre cordon was put in place and local roads closed, and those evacuated say they still didn’t know when they would be able to return home. One man, who had only moved into his house less than a week ago, said he was forced to sleep in his car, while another told how he returned to find his back garden swallowed up by the hole.
Sarah Lewis, who lives on William Way and was evacuated from her home along with her two daughters, aged four and six, said she felt “extremely stressed” about the uncertainty surrounding when she may be allowed back to the house. The 36-year-old said on Thursday that the council have told her it could be between two to four months until the family may be able to return home.
The IT worker, who has recently been made redundant, said the family had been “homeless” until 9pm on Wednesday evening and that the AirBnB provided by their home insurance company has black mould in it. She criticised the council for a “blackhole of information”, adding that residents had been left to “fend for themselves”.
Ms Lewis added: “We have no idea how long we’ll be out of our home. We have no idea how long the insurance are going to pay for us to have somewhere to live. We don’t know what kind of home we’re going to be able to live in and the council just have no answers whatsoever.”
Dana Hussein, 39, who owns a barber shop on Godstone High Street said he was “worried” about the impact of the sinkhole on his business and that, so far this week, he has only had a few customers as people are staying away from the area.
“We are so worried because the council said it may take nearly six months to fix, three to six months. If that road was closed for three to six months, it would affect our business because we would lose all the customers for six months.”
But elderly couple Brendon and Catherine Davis vowed to stay in their house, saying their 150-year-old property was “built to last” and wouldn’t be swallowed up. Speaking to MailOnline, retired company director Brendon Davis, 87, said: “My grandfather built that house and we know it will last. When he built the house, he packed the foundations with stones. It’s not going to cave in. In fact there is more rock underneath the house than there is above it.”
His wife, Catherine, 90, added: “We are not afraid. We know that house. My husband Brendon has lived in that house all his life. We know it was built to last.”
Christine Duncan, 57, who has lived in her home just outside the cordon for 24 years, is still in a state of shock at the “sudden” appearance. “I have never seen anything like this before. I am still in shock. I can’t make heads or tails of it,” she said.
“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.”
Another family, though, found out it is better to be safe than sorry. Rez Mira and his family had to leave his home in the early hours of Tuesday morning and stayed with relatives. He returned the next day thinking his house wouldn’t be affected, but found his garden falling into the sinkhole
“It’s collapsed, the wall will come down, for sure,” he told BBC News. “We’re just terrified. We have to figure out where to live now. Next week school is going back and we have to find somewhere close by.”
Also evacuated was Josh Name, who had only been living in his house for six days. After spending his night sleeping in his car, he was allowed back in to fetch more supplies, but says everyone is terrified that their homes could suddenly be swallowed up.
“I don’t know what’s going to come from here, no-one can give me any info,” he said. “They said it could be up to a week before we’re back in. I don’t think they know what state the mains gas and electric’s in, so it was risk of explosion, fire, collapse. My life’s still in boxes, I hadn’t even unpacked from the house move. Not what you wanted on a Monday night.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Surrey County Council said: “Residents who have been displaced are being supported by Tandridge District Council through their housing teams, and are being (and will be) contacted proactively throughout the incident. Both councils’ contact centres have been receiving calls throughout the past three days, have dedicated webpages live and have been issuing updates via their news pages and social media.”
Matt Furniss, the cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth at the county council, said properties surrounding the sinkhole have been declared stable for now and that the investigation into the incident “may take months.” He told the PA news agency: “All properties have been surveyed and we believe are currently structurally sound, but this may not remain the case.”
The problem afflicts several places across the UK, but what causes sinkholes? Weather and climate change and human activity are thought to be some of the causes of the problem, with many appearing at this time of the year when freezing temperatures hit.
