Message #262193

[Courtney Caine]

 Her husband Ben, a carpenter, was the first to call the police when he saw the road had opened up, pulling down brick walls and coming close to homes and cars on Fontmell Close.

Mrs Bagshaw said: "We couldn't see much out the window but we already knew there was a very small sinkhole in the pavement so Ben instantly looked out and said the road's collapsed, that's what's gone.

"So he ran outside to take a look, came back in, told me to get dressed and give him my phone. He rang the police.

"And then literally we grabbed my hospital notes, ran out the house and tried to wake all the neighbours up. We were throwing things up at the window."

Residents of five houses were taken at around 3.15am to a makeshift evacuation centre at a local leisure centre.

Gas and electricity supplies were isolated, cutting off more than 50 local homes.