Huge 20ft sinkhole swallows street, exposing disused mine shaft below

  • Newcastle
The sinkhole is up to 20ft wide Credit: PA

A huge sinkhole up to 20ft wide has opened up in a residential street, exposing disused mine workings below the surface.

The gaping hole swallowed the street outside a row of garages in Craster Square in Coxlodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

One car was left stranded in a driveway with no way out.

A council spokesman said officials believe the hole was caused by an old mine shaft, connected to a former National Coal Board workings.

Emergency services are at the scene Credit: Twitter/@CurtisGabrielCo

One man, who lives nearby, said police knocked on his door at around 11.30am to warn him not to go outside the back of his home.

The sinkhole opened up this morning Credit: PA
It has exposed disused mine workings Credit: PA

The spokesman from Newcastle City Council said the National Coal Board had been contacted, and their Emergency Response Team was attending the scene along with police, fire crews and council structural engineers.