Geological experts investigate Ripon sinkhole

Residents remain out of 12 homes in in Ripon after a giant sinkhole appeared in the North Yorkshire town on Wednesday.

Surveyors are currently at Magdalen's Road deciding when it's safe for any of the householders to return home.

The hole measures more than 60 feet across and 30 feet deep. A number of minor cracks have also appeared in a nearby footpath and a building wall overnight.

The paint marks on the picture below show cracks in the lane behind the gardens. The blue paint marks cracks that appeared yesterday, the yellow ones mark cracks that have appeared overnight.

A crack has also opened up in the wall of a building on the other side of the lane behind the collapsed gardens.

Experts from the British Geological Survey are using an aerial drone to try to get an accurate picture of the extent of the collapse and whether the hole is likely to get any bigger.

They are expected to be able to provide an update to residents and local authority engineers this afternoon.