Driveway sinkhole is now 12ft-deep chasm
A huge sinkhole that opened up beneath a Black Country driveway, just yards from the front door of a house, is getting bigger.
What began as a small depression underneath the front tyre of a car is now a chasm measuring about 10ft across and 12ft deep.
Since Sunday, it has consumed part of the front wall, garden slabs and a good part of the drive itself – leaving the car now teetering on the brink.
Investigations are now taking place into the cause of the sinkhole in Churchfields Road, Wednesbury.
One explanation could be the old mine workings, which dot this corner of the West Midlands.
Glenys Murphy, a neighbour, said: “The mines mean that everything around here is like a honeycomb.
“They have got a sinkhole up at the church.
“Personally, I’m not worried, because I know they built my house on the coal dump.”
Turning to look at the hole, she said: “It’s going to take some filling.”
Another neighbour said that there had always been sinkholes in the area, with one swallowing a tree in the same street some decades ago,
The depression has become something of a local tourist attraction – with drivers pulling up with their phones out to take photographs.
An elderly couple who live in the next road, and had gone along to see the huge void for themselves, described it as ‘worrying’.
The Coal Authority was informed about the hole on Monday.
Experts have now begun monitoring the situation and are trying to get to the bottom of why the hole opened up.
Sandwell Council has been able to put up barriers and secure the site.
But as the opening is on private land, dealing with the sinkhole will be a matter for the homeowner and their insurance company.
A Coal Authority spokeswoman said: “Our regional team responded quickly to secure the site and we are working with the relevant agencies to determine the cause of the collapse.”
