COUNTY NEWS: Huge '˜10ft-deep' sinkhole opens up in busy road

A busy Sussex road has been closed off after a huge sinkhole estimated to be 10ft deep suddenly opened up.
The sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deepThe sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deep
The sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deep

While the mouth of the initial hole which appeared today had a circumference of a couple of feet, a Highways official said it was considerably bigger and deeper in size.

The road, Victoria Drive in Bognor Regis, is currently cordoned off and is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day at least.

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It was reportedly spotted by a cyclist this morning, Monday, June 6. He alerted a neighbouring nursery school which helped to direct traffic away before police and West Sussex Highways officials arrived to shut the road.

The sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deepThe sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deep
The sinkhole is considerably larger than the opening, said to be around 10ft deep

A woman who works at the Bognor Regis Nursery School and Children’s Centre, right next to where the sinkhole opened up, said: “Apparently the man who lives opposite it spotted something black and thought a bird had been run over.

“But it was a cyclist who happened to be going past who saw it, he grabbed our school sign and put it over the hole so no one would go over it.

“He came running into the school shouting ‘there’s a big hole in the road outside which is really dangerous, you’d better phone Highways’ which is what we did.

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“It’s so lucky he saw it first, otherwise who knows what could have happened. It looks deep enough for a car to get stuck. How far down it goes I don’t know.

Half of Victoria Drive in Bognor is expected to remain closed for some time from the Linden Road junctionHalf of Victoria Drive in Bognor is expected to remain closed for some time from the Linden Road junction
Half of Victoria Drive in Bognor is expected to remain closed for some time from the Linden Road junction

“Luckily it happened after most of the children had come in.”

Half of Victoria Drive remains closed from the roundabout joining Linden Road.

A West Sussex County Council spokesman on the scene, who asked not to be named, said the sinkhole would now be opened up further to determine its size and what had caused it to happen.

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He said: “It’s a couple of feet in diameter but that’s only the opening, underneath it’s considerably bigger. It looks to be about 10ft deep.

The sinkhole will now be opened up further for investigationThe sinkhole will now be opened up further for investigation
The sinkhole will now be opened up further for investigation

“We have made the scene safe, but obviously being in the middle of the road it’s not in an ideal position.

“It’s not an every day occurrence, but sometimes they do just open up, plus it’s a hot day so the heat on the tarmac could have caused it.

“We will now open it up further to investigate. It’s difficult to say how long that will take, but there was a sinkhole in Linden Road four years ago and the road was shut for a few weeks.”

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